What is this...love?

What is this...love?
do not call this love
for my body's sacrifice
does not make it so
for the tears that I cry
and the long sleepless nights
do not add up to the word

Those four letters
are like fingernails
devouring my flesh
with every spoken sound
mouth wide open
without the decency
to know the true meaning

Like coal on a fire
I have sat and watched you burn me
as if I knew I deserved it
for some past sin
and now
you call my name again

How dare you call this ugly creature,
this criminal in my heart
...love
much like a carnivore
taking all the meat from me
only to spit me out

Am I not good enough to eat?
is there some rare breed I am unfamiliar with?
...because
I thought that rare breed was me
and so I cut my leg off and whistle
come and get it

And you shall rip me of my fleshy shell
only to take what's left as well
discarding my humanity
unjustly
and find another
to entertain your thought