This poem is the first in a series of three that was inspired by
Meat Loaf’s performance of
Jim Steinman’s
wonderful song Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad;
which in turn was inspired by Elvis Presley’s
performance of Maurice Mysels
and Ira Kosloff’s song
I Want You, I Need You, I Love You.
Love is a mighty tricky emotion; it so easily gets confused with
infatuation and obsession. Love is completely selfless
— all thoughts are directed toward how you affect the other person.
Infatuation and obsession are completely selfish — all
thoughts revolve around how the other person affects you. Wisdom and
maturity lie in recognizing the difference. As every parent knows, it is
a child’s eternal demand: I want it!
Specific religious beliefs aside, this is still one of (if not) the
best definitions of love I have ever seen: 4Love
suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade
itself, is not puffed up; 5does not behave rudely, does not
seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6does not
rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7bears all
things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they
will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is
knowledge, it will vanish away.
— 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, New King James Version (NKJV).
Sometimes, one of the hardest things in life is recognizing that your
feelings for someone are not and never will be reciprocated; then you
must let go and move on, no matter how much your heart aches. To
juxtapose The Who’s classic performance
of Pete Townshend’s
song Magic Bus: I
want it, I want it, I want it, I want it — you can’t have it.