"Dream Dreamt"

I dreamt of love,
not the romanticized ideal
put forth by Hollywood,
or the great works of literature,
but the simple act of compassion
and need for companionship.

The world has illustrated love
and fashioned it into appearances
and outward things,
but as the outward crumbles
it's what's inside that exposes
our real wants and fears
until our true face is shown.

I have imagined love as giving,
and wishing happiness on another,
yet people have tried to teach me
it's not that way.
it's demanding, impatient,
self centered, and selfish.
not at all what I imagined....

I once believed that love is youth,
and that first love is the only love;
I've seen the supermodels and pretty people
advertise love as if it's a physical entity,
and when it comes down to it,
the look of love is only just that... a look.

can anyone tell me the rules of love?
there must be a manual somewhere,
for those like myself to read and understand,
yet break the rules anyway;
because when we conform to expectations,
love becomes an idol to worship occasionally,
and not an institution to live by everyday.

So I've dreamt of love,
not the romanticized ideal,
but the pure feeling that one gets
when they think of someone
they know they can't live without,
much the same way I think of you,
and hope for your companionship.

I guess in essence, love is hope
and hope is love,
and the world can make of it what it will,
for I know the truth,
love is the dream dreamt
now miraculously coming to life.