You choose to love someone

My father once told me

It's not an instant thing

You choose to love

and look past the flaws and failures

My father once told me 

You love in spite of, not because of

Or, you choose to hate

To glare at with despising eyes

and purposefully see the flaws they try to hide

My father once told me

Love is a choice we all make

We can choose to be bitter

We can choose to be kind

We can choose a love that withers

Or a love that stays

My father once told me

Love is not guaranteed 

It is something you must work for

In order to keep

Since love can be chosen

It can never be stolen

nor ever extinguished

That's what makes love so beautiful

Or at least, that's what my father tells me.