love is

have you ever been in love? horrible isn't it?
it makes you so vulnerable. it opens your chest and
it opens up your heart and it means that someone
can get inside you and mess you up
you build up all these defenses
you build up a whole suit of armor
so that nothing can hurt you
then one stupid person
no different from any other stupid person
wanders into your stupid life
you give them a piece of you
they didn't ask for it
they did something dumb one day
like kiss you or smile at you
and then your life isn't your own anymore
love takes hostages
it gets inside you
it eats you out and leaves you crying in the darkness
so a simple phrase like
'maybe we should be just friends'
turns into a glass splinter working its way into your heart
it hurts
not just in the imagination
not just in the mind
it's a soul-hurt
a real gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain

//Quoted from Rose Walker in Sandman: The Kindly Ones, by Neil Gaiman