Love Is Not Candy
by Ted Guhl

Love is not candy:
she is not a tootsie roll,
he is not an all day sucker.
It is not sexy dreams:
bikini clad, topless on a beach,
dark eyes in a face of stone.
Nor is it romance:
candlelight playing over her fingers,
moonlight as he walks the beach.
So much love is not:
doing his laundry,
paying her taxes.
Companionship comes closest,
perhaps,
or a smile at
the moment of doubt.