When I want to know what Love is

When I want to know what love is

I go to Tiana's house.

Sometimes I stand up, get in my car and drive

mountain roads curling like hairbands

valleys cut through rocks and hard places

breaking into fields and skies of floating snowy peaks

then sea

But mostly I go in my heart

close my eyes and sit in the armchair in Tiana's living room

her feet up on the couch

comic books beside bare toes

She will tell me Welcome

show me her best brothers and sister in the world

ask for an elegant breakfast of eggs and muffins, but proclaim the toast "Perfect"

She will fill a page with handwriting like brass gate scrollwork

poetry, wisdom, the love of Jesus, princess rainbows, and hearts

and hearts and hearts

and hearts

When I want to remember what love is

I go to Tiana's house

and I don't have to stay long.

Sometimes just as long as a smile

a curtsy

a burst of laughter

Then I can go home, too.