Tom
I do not follow where the title, "Love Story", belongs. So I assume that it might apply to the picture above and perhaps the poetry too. I must admit, at first glance, the poetry escaped me so I have let it go for now.
My immediate reaction is, Tom, you have to be joking, this is not pretty! What on earth are you showing us!! But then I have to look again, as few of your pictures are actually "pretty"!
This picture shows a vase of roses that have been kept beyond their lifespan of beauty. The leaves are also not fresh but mostly withered, but still green, meaning that the neglect has only been fairly recent. Some petals lie, as if fallen, on the cloth below. The background is a fabric with a pretty pattern of vines and flowers. The cloth, however is not freshly laundered and ironed, but rather crumpled as if it had been taken from some pile of curtains or night dresses, that are no longer used.
So this picture is not built to impress us with beauty, for that can be found only if neglect and lingering death are beautiful. If I look at the body of your work, you have a penchance for humor and social commentary.
So let's look at it again: "A love Story"
Tom Dinning: A Love Story
So taking that as a clue and the title "Love Story", it implies, perhaps, that love lingers even when we are no longer pristine and our faces and bellies have sagged and hair is thinned and gray, the essence of love lingers, if it was valid in the first place. So now I can add the title and it makes sense. It's indeed about love.
Even if the whole intent is to show "You guys could take seriously any daftly-grabbed picture that I pulled together and throw at you and it will be received as tasty icecream!", I can place this within your other humorous shenanigans and say, (despite of your trickery), this is good work!
Thanks for sharing and testing us!
Asher