James Moore Poet Free verse

Notes About The Poem

Who Do You Love

(“With Love”, 2017, original encaustic)

I don’t know much about love
But I know one thing for sure
“Love is love” gets it all wrong.
Who and what do you love? 
Because it makes all the difference.
Do you love Satan or God?
Do you love only yourself or others?
Do you love peace and freedom,
Or tyranny and mayhem?
What, who and how you love
Is more important than simply loving
Without discernment, without judgement
Because that selfish love isn’t really love
It’s just selfish lust in disguise.
And selfish lust is certainly a thing in itself,
A natural thing we all deal with,
It just isn’t love.
What is love then?
Ask yourself who do you love.

(8/20/26)

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Alison A Smith nee Howarth August 21, 2026 at 4:47 AM A thought-provoking poem that challenges the easy slogan of “love is love” by insisting that love has moral direction and consequences. Its direct, conversational questions give it the force of a personal examination of conscience, while the distinction between selfless love and selfish desire is clearly and firmly drawn. James Moore August 21, 2026 at 6:41 AM Thought provoking response/synopsis! Thanks for the feedback Alison.