There was spring love

New and fresh and surprising

Promising like the light lacing through the leaves on the first warm day

Pink little flowers in bloom

his love was pure and brilliant with potential

renewing and refreshing in the novelty of it

There was a summer love

Happening in the moment

Silly and wild adventures and getting in trouble

Sometimes burning too hot

burning red and hot flashes of passion

dangerous and consuming

risk-taking, death-defying

like driving over the speed limit

Misleading like the mirages on hot roads

Arrogant and forever young, crop tops and neon dresses and pop culture imagery, not thinking too deep into it

Euphoria and promises of eternal glory and everlasting life that change on the turn of a dime

tempting, seductive, destructive in its power

like a young god whose reign comes to a violent end

regrettable in its devastation

There was an autumn love

private like crawling under the covers

not moving on a Sunday

Smells of the bitter and complex chocolate aroma of coffee in the mornings

comforting like revealing a painful secret with a dear friend that you’ve kept to yourself for years

Sunsets and twilights of candlelight and quiet

The tragic beauty of leaves burning red before dying

the one you say goodbye to just because

I will love you forever in another lifetime

airplanes taking off in the rain in old movies

Then there was my favorite, the winter love

The one meticulously prepared for all year round with studious sacrifice, saved pennies, patient and understated determination

passionate but calculated, measured twice

Electrifying happiness like ice wind and rain on your raw skin

Brisk frozen temperatures that rip your soul open, alive, that hit you like the excruciating truth you need to hear

Then

Silence like slow falling snow

The protection of home you come back to after a long, dark and stormy drive

The one that loves your soul when you’re no longer young and beautiful