All You Need Is Love

and shelter
and nutrition
and a source of fresh water
and self-worth
and a good government
and respect
and ownership of your own body
and a skill set
and freedom of speech, of assembly, of belief, of ...
and equality
and justice
and literacy in so many ways
and something to believe in
...
so much more than love.
love is a symptom of privilege
a sign that you already have the basics
it's a longing encouraged by ipods and cable television and physical comfort
so mr. lennon
what good do your brass instrumentals do
to those who have no time
for this idea of love?
love is a want, a shallow and self-indulgent desire
it is not even close to "all you need"

i think of love when i'm warm and safe, when my belly is full and my bank account means a certain freedom. and the thought of love manages to make me feel cold, hungry and poor. love is the perfect inadequacy of a capitalist world. it makes us buy silly clothes and products, makes us feel lonely enough to be convinced of a need to purchase more and more.
what if we stopped believing in love as a necessity for our own happiness? what would we focus on then? what would our music speak of? maybe we'd figure out what's really important, and stop being so self-indulgent.