Promise

A feeling.

A heartfelt emotion.

An inexplicable sense.

An instant attraction.

That's what everyone says love is.

Skipping across an emerald meadow.

Picnics on red checked blankets.

Dancing underneath a starry sky.

Kissing as raindrops gently fall.

That's what movies say love is.

A fight that ends in passionate sex.

Running hand in hand through a fantastic realm.

Riding off together into the sunset.

Winning a battle, side by side.

That's what books say love is.

That's not what love is.

Standing by someone through hell and high water.

Willingly fighting for someone else.

Staying when it would be easier to walk away.

Giving up happiness for another's sake.

That's what love is.

When a baby is born, there is a bond.

When best friends meet, they make a commitment.

At the alter, a vow is made.

A similar meaning behind each.

That's what love is.

Because love is not a feeling.

Love is a promise.

And one must make that choice.

The choice to do right by someone else.

The choice to put another first.

The choice to give that precious word.

Love may be a promise.

But it is a promise that is so rarely ever kept.

We begin to lose faith in the principle.

And without trust, love cannot exist.