We are just a few weeks out of February and the month of love. In honor of Valentine’s Day, I posted a poem called And As We Grew about childhood sweethearts and a lifelong love (https://thepracticalpoet.com/and-as-we-grew-from-walk-through-a-field-of-flowers/). This was a poem I wrote when I was a teenager and it made its way into my first book called “Walk Through a Field of Flowers” which was published during the Covid lockdown of 2020.
The next few posts that followed the poem And As We Grew were of a different nature. Although they were on the subject of love, they had to do with love gone wrong. The poem Suffocated from my fourth book “Sow Seeds of Wisdom” (https://thepracticalpoet.com/suffocated-from-sow-seeds-of-wisdom/) was about a new love interest that had suddenly turned possessive and toxic. The main character felt as if she couldn’t breathe around this other person, as her fight-or-flight instincts took hold. The poem, Ice Water (https://thepracticalpoet.com/ice-water-from-gather-seeds-of-hope/) from my third book “Gather Seeds of Hope” was about a romance that turned icy, and the poem The Last Waltz, also from my first book called “Walk Through a Field of Flowers” was about a romantic flame that fizzled out (https://thepracticalpoet.com/the-last-waltz-from-walk-through-a-field-of-flowers/). Love and hate. Fire and Ice. Such strong opposites that exist in the world of romance. It sounds like I am against love but that is not the case at all, which leads me to this week’s poem In Defense of Love. This poem has not yet been featured in any of my books, but I am happy to be able to post it here.
In this poem, the main character (who I think is a man…more on that later), is down on love. He feels as if he has been stomped on, ripped apart, and shredded by love. He has built a citadel around his heart and his home, and is determined not to let love anywhere near. But then something changes. Someone enters his life. Someone with whom he trusts and feels a bond, and suddenly he finds himself letting down those walls, unlocking those fortress doors, and taking a chance on romance again.
Regarding the gender in this poem, I typically don’t assign gender to the characters in my poems. I let the reader interpret or make a decision if the characters are male or female. But every now and then I get a feeling about a character and in my own mind I do assign a gender. This is a similar situation in the poem Suffocated referenced above. In that poem, I imagine the main character to be a female. You may get a different feeling regarding the characters and I hope you do. I want every reader to interpret the poem as they see fit.
I hope you enjoy this poem and the transformation that took place as the main character decided that love is worth taking a chance on after all.
In Defense of Love
I’ve often been a critic.
There were times I disbelieved.
Love was not a feeling
I most readily retrieved.
People say “I Love You”,
And then act in a way
That goes against that sentiment;
Sending love astray.
There are way too many love songs
Both good and filled with heart,
But equally where love goes wrong
As couples split apart.
There are movies filled with characters
Just looking for romance
But struggles come to surface
Before they even stand a chance.
I’ve watched with a most cynical eye
As relations fell apart
And I’d wonder why one would engage
In matters of the heart.
For it’s a losing battle,
Full of grief and flowing tears.
Who would believe that love could last
Through months or even years?
I’ve shivered in love’s bitter chill
As I felt its cold embrace.
I’ve felt the sting of love gone wrong
Like a slap across my face.
I’ve felt love’s bony haggard hands
As they wrapped around my arm
Squeezing, clenching, bruising…
Intent to do me harm.
I’ve felt love’s skinny fingers
As they scraped across my back
Leaving me raw and bloody,
Yet somehow still intact.
I’ve lain curled in a fetal position;
A mere lump among the fray.
I’ve felt love trample over me…
And then just walk away.
I’ve felt the universe stomp out love
As if I didn’t deserve it;
Because I didn’t honor or protect it
Or preserve it.
I’ve felt emptiness gaze upon me
As it stared into my soul.
I’ve raised my hands in surrender
Allowing love to take its toll.
I’ve traded the risk of love
For safety of solitude.
I’ve fought demons in both head and heart
As loneliness ensued.
I’ve sworn off love forever.
I’ve turned my heart to stone.
I’m committed only to myself.
I will live and die alone.
But then a chance encounter
Skips my heart a beat.
I feel a shift in gravity
And the ground beneath my feet.
Now look at this…love is back
And knocking at my door.
Do I proceed to let it in
To wage another war?
Should I prepare for battle
With shield and weapons drawn?
Do I proceed to shoot love down
Like a predator on my lawn?
For after all, that’s what love is…
A prowler to beware
For it rips our chest wide open
Leaving our heart exposed and bare.
But this time love feels different,
As my defenses start to fall.
This time love doesn’t feel like
That predator on the crawl.
So I ask myself what’s happening.
Why this change of heart?
Why am I not prepping for love
To tear my life apart?
Why do my arms feel welcoming
As I stare love in the face?
Why does love feel comforting
As I accept its warm embrace?
Because it’s you…I reason.
Because this time feels right
As I lay down my weapons
For I no longer need to fight.
So begins a transformation…
A shift that’s moving through…
A settling within my soul
That says I’m safe with you.
I don’t feel I’m in danger.
This doesn’t seem like a trap.
Instead this love feels softer;
Like a kitten on my lap.
Now there’s nothing I should fear.
Love seems safe and sound.
And I suddenly feel lighter
Like my feet have left the ground.
This time love’s not sticky;
It tastes astonishingly sweet.
The love this time feels solid,
Like the ground beneath my feet.
Those feet no longer feel like
They’re sinking in quick sand.
Instead the love that you present
Offers a soft place I can land.
As I turn on the radio
And hear a familiar song
About joy, romance, and happiness…
And not of love gone wrong.
I start to whistle softly
As I feel a change begin.
And I no longer feel the fight
As peace gently settles in.
I accept this peace with gratitude.
I accept this calm with grace
As I settle into comfort
Like I’ve finally found my place.
I surprise even myself
By this change within my being.
I feel like fear and doubt
Are taking flight and quickly fleeing.
Who would have thought the safety of you
Would allow me to surrender?
Who would have thought that I’d become
Love’s most staunch defender?
-K.A. Bloch-
© 2026
