Be My Valentine

What does it mean to love?
Is it walking lockstep with the world,
candy for your sweetheart
come February 14,
the dessert they always loved
back when they were a child
at every family gathering,
sharing a tub of ice cream
for old time's sake?
Does love change?
Can something that was loving
become a cruel barb, hurtful,
a cause of pain?
Love never fails,
but we know in part
and what once was love
can turn to hurt.
The greatest is love
but doesn't that mean
meeting a person's needs
and not society's rote rules?