From talking with Dr. Alok Pant

Love is not finite
like a piece of cheese
when consumed it is gone.

Love is like a fractal
even the smallest fraction
contains the whole of it.

Ever-nourishing, ever-replenishing
like a garden needs tending
like gas in a car tank

needs periodic refilling
from some Infinite Source.
Self-love coming first and foremost

all else flowing from that stream.
Love is not a fragile flower.
It is not tough gristle.

It is resilience to withstand
the earthquakes, fires, the gale force wind,
full awareness of moments of pure contentment.

Love expands like foam insulation
to fill any space poured into,
unbounded by time

once Love is, it is forever.
Love is always a choice
that can be chosen

not at the expense of
but simply because
there is no separation

between all the drops in the ocean.

I have come for you
and you for me
teacher and student mutually.

Margaret Dubay Mikus
© 2017

Published in Something Inside So Strong: Women Writing on Resistance, Resilience and Reverence. An anthology of The International Women’s Writing Guild, 2026