Beneath the Similes

Like something shown on a high definition television set,
clear, from a comfortable distance.
Yet look too closely
and you'll see all the blemishes
the imperfections
the realities one might choose to ignore.

Or maybe it's like a dream;
look beneath the narrative
realize the pain and ugliness;
the unresolved issues lurking there.

And all at once you understand
how fragile
how tenuous it is.
How merging two complex systems,
two lives,
borders on the impossible.

Yet we try. We consider it life's most worthy pursuit.
This usually ephemeral thing
that we call love.