(99) Works of Love
III A
Love Is the Fulfilling of the Law (Romans 13: 10)
This is a law we must uphold
One day at a time
It can be how our story's told
In the name of the divine
Is it that way when we make a promise
We are halfway to deception?
In that way can we feel admonished
To beware of false impressions?
When we say "yes" we commit an act
Which may well go unfulfilled
We make a promise into a fact
Which in the future may bode ill
A promise works just like an act
That's why it's called "performative"
It makes future ideas into facts
We can hope they are informative
Simply saying "Yes" is a kind of promise
Thus we should do so mindfully
We must speak as a soul that's all honest
Or when we speak we do so shamefully
A promise speaks of our intentions
We have heard where that can lead
It makes a world of our invention
And we may say it just to please
When we speak of love, it must be real
At every single moment
It is then to eternity we appeal
To keep that statement current
To say "I love you" may be automatic
Or sometimes as an evasion
When we say it just to be dramatic
We have failed love's consideration