exchanged between smitten males and females.

But what is love? Is it the commercial hype of heart-shaped boxes of chocolates, mushy greeting cards, red roses, expensive restaurant menus, stuffed toys and silver balloons with special messages? Or is it something more important? Primary school students at Dellwood and the Bermuda High School certainly think so, and the following sampling of their responses to Taste's question: What is Love? make fascinating reading.

In a world increasingly torn by strife and dissent, where family values are compromised, stress and anger are often a first response, and materialism is all, these children have kept their focus on the fundamental belief that love cannot be bought.

Jessica Lines (7): (Poem) Love is love and love is you. Make your wish come true. And what is love? Oh, don't you know? It's not just a ribbon and a bow.

Laurie Thompson (6): To me, love means feeling happy inside. You should love everyone. You should love people like your mother and your dad and your brothers and your sisters, and friends. I love my teacher, Mrs. Bassett. She loves her class like all teachers should.

You should love your principal by bringing her a flower or giving her a kiss.

You can show you love your janitor by keeping your classrooms tidy and clean.

If you love your island you will not throw paper in the street. You will put it in the trash can. Love is caring.

Courtney Cotterill: Love is hugging my cats and my kitten. And love means when your mummy tucks you into bed.

Oliver Zawistowski (9): Love is a thing that the world should care more about.

All the children who are dying of hunger in Africa are missing the warmth, caring, friendly feelings that love can bring to them. If the world was to show more love to them, their world would be a happier and wonderful place to be in.

J'nai Chapman (9): Love is friendship. It is sitting together. If you sit together you will be friends forever.

Katie DeSilva: Love is when my puppy shakes my hand.

Dwaynette Smith (8): Love is a strong and special feeling a person feels for another. I love my sister for a special reason. If love wasn't on this earth my mom or my dad wouldn't be together right now.

Jessica Mitchell (7): Love is when you care for people. Why do we have love? We have love so we can have sweethearts.

Candra Wolffe (6): When someone says that they love you, they like you a lot! You should love your dad and your mom. I love my mom and she loves me too. I show my mother I love her by washing the dishes for her. We go to the shop too. Me and my mother cook things at home for me and my friends. On Tuesdays me and my mom walk down the road. One day we saw a little bug! I have a little cat and I love him. I give him food and I play with him. I love my grandma because she is lovely. I go up to her house and talk to her.

One day me and my mother sat down and had a nice talk. We talked about love. I remember she said that we can have a nice time together by talking to each other.

Lisa Downey (6): Love is when you fall, then Paula will help me.

Ashley DaCosta (6): Love is school.

Brianna Holmes (6): Love is happiness. Love is caring for others. Love is kisses and hugs. Love is when you can spend time with your family. Love is almost everything. Love is how you feel inside.

Jerome McNee (6): Love means that you should love your mom and dad and everybody. My mom and my dad love me very much. Love means caring, sharing and being polite. I love everyone in my class and Mrs. Bassett too. You can love your mom and dad and classmates. You show you care by helping, listening and thinking of others before you think only about yourself.

I am a cub scout. If you work hard you can grow up to be a cub scout leader.

Then you will show your love to your cub scout troupe by taking them camping and fishing and swimming. I love everyone.

Rowan Hallett (6): Love is when the birds sing to you.

Domonique Rivas (6): Love means loving someone, caring for someone. I love and care for my mommy very much. My mommy is my life! I can help my mommy.

Sometimes I make my bed for my mommy. My mommy works very hard. I help my mommy by doing my homework and my reading. I care for people who do not have any food to eat. I am showing that I care for people by sharing. I care for the people who live on the streets. God was the one that made Love before anyone was on land. God made us all. And you should be good to God by showing love. People who live on the street need food and clothes and a house.

Krystle Phillips (6): Love is when you help your brother to tidy up his room.

Shamir Gordon (9): Love is something when someone cares for another person very, very much. If they died the person would cry for a long, long time. That same person who was crying would think about that person and give flowers to the man in charge of the graveyard. He would put the flowers on the grave.

Nina Outerbridge (6): Love is when your mummy and daddy kiss you goodnight.

Sherie Joell (9): Love is liking to me. It is friendship. When my mom or dad say I Love You it makes me feel special, important, grateful and wonderful.

Love is caring and when my mom or dad hugs me it shows that they care and love me. They'll always be there for me and they'll do anything -- even die for me.

They buy me things and I buy them things. Love is joyfulness and it will last forever.

`LOVE MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND' Lianna Samuels (7): Love is when you give someone a helping hand and when you care for someone. Love can make you feel happy and sad. You can love someone and hate what they do. My mom loves me a lot but sometimes she hates the naughty things I do. Love sometimes makes you feel warm inside.

Stacy Oughton (6): Love is when you love the people all over the world.

Randall Clarke (8): My meaning for love is when someone cares for you with their whole heart and someone is proud of you. My mom shows love by buying me things to wear. She also shows love by cheering for me when I am in a school race. My mom shows love by hugging me.

Elisa Gilsenan (6): Love is best friends. I love Nicole and Kristina. We like to giggle and play.

Triquia Peterson (8): Love means a lot to me because of the way people show it. One way is it lasts forever. My love comes out of my heart. Everybody's love comes out of their hearts, that's why we have one. I know why Jesus died on the cross. He died for our sins. That's why you love your mother, father, sisters, brothers, aunts and uncles. Whenever you love someone you will always love them in your hearts.

Jessica Faiella (6): Love is when my dog jumps up on my lap and licks me.

Gregory Caesar (9): Love is like I love my daddy and mom. I love everybody in my family. Love is fun to me. Everybody in my family loves me.

Anna Kessaram (6): Love is when your mummy kisses you to sleep.

Natasha Tucker (9): Love is caring for somebody when they are not well. Love is when you help someone. A mother and father love you because you are special. You love someone because they are nice, not because they are mean.

Love is when you do something for someone that makes them happy.

Stefanie Dunkley: Love is my kittens. I love my kitten Fifi. I love my mommy.

And I love my teacher, Mrs. Storie.

Damaia Dunkley (6): Love is when your sister hugs you.

Alicia Amaral (7): Love means caring for others, picking up something that's in the wrong place and lending a helping hand. When people get hurt people that are around should show love by helping them. If people want to be treated nicely, they have to be nice to others. When boys and girls fight they need to learn more about love.

Danielle Galange (6): Love is when you help your brother when he is sick.

Devaun Cox (8): Love is when you buy milk when you don't have any at all and you go and buy some and you will make your mom happy. That's what love is all about.

Fajr Bashir (7): Love means wanting to help someone that I care about. I help my grandmother, my mom, my papa and my dad. I love and care about them very, very much. I help, love and care for others also. I also respect others. I care about my whole family very, very, very much. I love me most of all.

Daniel Phillips (8): Love means a lot to me. It means sharing a toy or a game boy. Love means caring for the world and caring for your mom and dad.

Friendship is a love and to me it means a person or friend you care for. Love makes the world go round. I am delighted that love is in the world. I am grateful for love because love is kind. Love means having fantastic times together. Without love we would be very sad, miserable and heartbroken.

Kristin van Hees (6): Love is when you give your friends a present.

Laura Ashton and Ashleigh Lowe: Love is my family.

Lucie Patching: Love is when I come to school in the morning and I see my teacher, Mrs. Storie. Love is when I come home from school and see my mom and dad.

Lauren Rowntree (7): Love is when you care for somebody and take them out to dinner or lunch. Love is a wonderful thing.

Cymone Weller (7): Love is when you care, share and give. You can do that, right? I know I can. When somebody loves you, inside their body they have bubbles and it makes them shake.

Sinead Scott: Love is that my dad comes home soon and that my sister will be nice to me one day.

Chesney Pearman: Love is having shelter, caring for your family, and another thing you should really care for is your earth that you live on. And my mom, she worries too much about me. Even though I get in trouble sometimes I still love school.

Courtney Burland: Love is when I kiss my cats.

Margot Shane: Love is hearts and hugs and lots of kisses. Daytime hugs and daytime kisses -- they all mean love. We love our mummies, we love our daddies. We also love our sister. They also mean love.

Nicole Donnachie (6): Love is when I take my sister to her play school. She hugs me.

Natalia Oborensky (7): Love is when somebody really likes another person. A mother would love her child because the child was hers. If you care for someone it is loving someone. If someone you love sends you a very nice card it means that they love you.

Jenny Shirley (7): Love is like you love someone. I love my mommy, daddy and Jason and my grandma. I love everyone in my family. I love Miss Doyle.

Paula Finsness (6): Love is when you are on the couch and your dog jumps on you and licks you.

Ashleigh Moffatt (7): Love is when you feel you love someone. Love is when you get married. Love is when you have a hug.

Melissa Pitman (6): Love is when you help your sister clean up her room.

Kerri-Lynne Dietz: Love is a happy feeling inside. You feel very happy when you love somebody.

Robyn DeSilva (6): Love is when a dog follows you.

Kristan Law (7): Love is when my mummy goes away and I give her a kiss.

Sacha Hook (7): Love is hugs and kisses. I think love can be every day and every night too. I care for my mommy and daddy. I love them and they love me.

I love myself too.

Dana Kayes: I love my best friend. She went away. Love is missing her every day. I love her.

Whitney Morfitt: Love is a wonderful thing to have. It snuggles up to you when you need it. It makes you feel so warm and happy in the most wonderful way.