Love
BY MALIYA BROOKS
SIGHT – Love looks the way a bare bush decorated in winter frost looks. It looks like a twig engulfed in an icy coating. It looks like fresh honey dew on blades of grass in the morning- like two hands clasped tightly in the back of a pitch black movie theater, both elbows rested firmly on the arm of the theater seats and hands are raised high, proudly, in a room where no one else can quite see it as well. But you know they’re there.
SMELL – When you first open your window on a cozy spring morning- fresh droplets of rain settling on the front porch and somebody has just cut the grass- emitting an earthy aroma across the soil. Love smells like stopping on your way home from work to fill your gas tank and getting the quick whiff of untouched gasoline in the brief exchange- short, sudden, and intoxicating. It smells like an addiction you forget you have until you encounter it again.
FEELING – Pulling off your shoes once you get home from eight hours on your feet, pressing a hot rag to your face after a full day of makeup, and slipping into a warm car on a freezing morning. The comforting sensation of love feels like hugging someone after what feels like an affection drought- and really sinking your entire self into another person. That’s love.
TASTE – Have you ever gone on a really sudden water binge- where suddenly your body is a temple and your whole demeanor screams “FITNESS”- even though you’ve only been dieting a week? Love tastes like a cheat day, like that first drop of liquid crack they call soda and wondering why you EVER stopped drinking that stuff. It tastes like that one nostalgic food you associate with your grandma for some reason- and having it now its not really all that great, but it tastes amazing because you know what it holds in your heart.
SOUND – Love sounds like your alarm going off on a snow day, it’s terrifying at first, but once you get used to it, you’re only slightly on edge. Then, it’s not so bad! It sounds like waking up to your cat purring by your face- and your chest gets so warm and full of the urge to hold this little creature that has blessed you with its presence. It sounds like the sizzling and cracking of breakfast- and the soft hum of a radio nearby while someone cooks for the house. Love sounds like a welcomed surprise
About the Author
Maliya Brooks, sixteen years old, attends Batavia High School in Batavia, Ohio, and has recently discovered what the word love truly means. She lives in a conservative village as an openly gay biracial girl, and sometimes feels like all of the people she considers her neighbors and family are out to get her. This piece was created in appreciation of the care and support from her very best friend and platonic soulmate.
HYPERNOVA LIT 