Oakdale Ink

February 2026: Love

"Love, like a mountain-wind upon an oak, Falling upon me, shakes me leaf and bough" - Love, Sappho

“love is a ruse” by Aleah Hernandez Rivera 

Love’s like a walk in the park.

Pretty in the day, 

but scary when it gets dark.

Love’s like the moon.

Beautiful and cryptic but from afar,

but holed up close.

Love’s like the wind. 

Blissful on a hot summer day, 

but frigid and unwanted on a wintry morning.

Most want love, 

but none want the truth. 

Limerence infatuates the soul,

And unrequitedness rips away at one's soles.

Love is truth and love is real.

But like truth, love is rarely unconcealed.

Like reality, love is never as pleasant as it is haunting.

Call it a ruse, the way it is blinding. 

With memories and hard veracity clinging onto one's mind,

love slowly drifts them into their demise.

“Forever” By Erin Post

Forever is a word meant not for people,

But for souls.

The song will end,

The rain will cease,

The final text will be written, 

And you will finally hit send.

You will remember in the grocery aisles, 

The memories of smiles.

Or when looking into the southern skies,

The way he would look into your eyes.

Everything will pause for a moment, 

Then a pit will begin in your chest. 

You won’t be reminded of the memories at first, 

But instead the way “forever” felt. 

As time goes on most memories will fade away. 

You won’t remember them, 

But that feeling will stay the same.

In the grocery isle, 

You drop your smile, 

And relight when you smell your coffee. 

Or when you look into the sky, 

You will feel blue and wonder why, 

But go about your day. 

These are all the little signs,

Possibly the final part,

That someone you have truly loved, 

Is forever in your soul, 

Just no longer in your heart. 

“Faded Love” by Alex Harris

I swear my feelings are gone.

I swear I don’t like you that way.

But could you have been the one

if I were to stay?

I don’t think we would date

even if I stayed.

Maybe it was too late,

And your feelings would fade.

But you found someone new;

She’s sweet and she’s pretty.

And I swear I don’t like you,

but could that have been me?