Love In the Time of Everything

In spite of
The cancer
The murder
The rape
The lies
The decay
The misgivings
The false starts
The dead ends
The vanity
The pride
The poverty
The malnutrition
The AIDS
The diabetes
The war
The molestation
The trivialities
The boredom
The theft
The graft
The national pride
The tartar
The splinters
The fleas
The mosquitoes
The bed bugs
The acne
The acrid smell
The sewage
The dump heap
The diahrrea
The abortions
The miscarriages
The still births
The junk mail
The political parties
The religious impulse
The horror
The vacuity
The misery
The loneliness
The emptiness
Of everything
And everyone,
You manage
To make me
Smile.