My love for you is
the wild blue of open summer sky
It is cool and damp
secret and green
hidden deep in the forest
It is a snapping fire
The scent of heaven
in woodsmoke form
The transformation from
earth to ether
I breathe you in
——
My love for you is a -10 degree day
sharp and biting
felt in the bone
Most people will say
no way,
stay indoors
but I
stretch and go outside
I let it numb me
catch me in its icy embrace
I let it relieve
the pain of being alive
I let it freeze my tears, my sighs
so they become shimmering crystals on my lashes
like stars around my eyes
——
My love for you is a hot cup
of something sweet
on that bitter cold day
Going down warm
Spreading heat from within
——
My love for you is an afghan
crocheted with love
in yarns of all colors, textures, weights
A lifetime of yarns
brought together
to cover you
to comfort you
to embrace you
——
My love for you
is a blushing sunset
Retreating, yes, but
lingering still
Reminding you with beams of light
I’m still here
just
on the other side
Waiting to illuminate you
when the night is over
——-
My love for you
is a towering cloud
white, gathered, scalloped
around the edges
Layered
So powerful
So full of promise
and yet
so simple
——
My love for you is
rain
after a long
hot summer day
sometimes gentle
but sometimes
torrential
Falling all around you
into your eyes
your mouth
Filling in your lowest places
Washing over you
through you
Hoping to nourish
the seeds that have been planted
there inside you
——
My love for you
is a child running
with abandon
gleeful
free
unstoppable
breathing hard
and flushed
with joy
——
My love for you
is a tree
old, ancient, gnarled
with twisted limbs and
rough bark
She rests in the winter
exposed
guarding life as it sleeps
waking it slowly
warming it
coaxing it
to flower, to leaf, to bear fruit
——
My love for you is a season
changing, flowing, cyclical but
never boring
Sometimes too much
but never enough
Waiting its turn to be next
to show its colors
next to show its bones
next to show its growth
next to show its rest
then breathe life again
——
My love for you is breath
Ever present, but in the background
No effort needed
Just
there
In times of
trouble
pain
grief
it moves in a little closer
In times of
laughter
conversation
song
it flits about, in and out
In times of
pleasure
ecstacy
union
it trembles
then pauses
then overflows
like fluid
ready to change
as needed
ready to nourish
your mind your body your soul
——
My love for you
is the dark of night
The certainty of
uncertainty
Holding you close but also
creating space around you
for fear
for sleep
for exploration
for loneliness
for sorrow
for desire
for
stars
——
My love for you is a garden
of whatever you want
to grow
You can tend it carefully
or carelessly
You can ignore it
let it go to weed
or
You can stand in the center
reach out in any direction
and nourishment meets you
at your fingertips
It thrives
under your warmth
under your touch
——
My love for you
is an unpolished stone
in a river
Full of unseen beauty
untapped potential
immeasurable value
My love for you
is a rock
in the forest
It will sit quietly
knowing all it holds
If you pick it up
and bring it home
tumble it
grind it
polish it
who knows
what treasure
might be there
——
My love for you
is a ballad a rhapsody a nocturne
a simple melody heard over time and
heard again
Sometimes caught in your mind
Sometimes forgotten
Until one day you hear it
and remember
My love for you
is created by
every instrument
every voice
every sound
every note
every known word
Encompassing language
Becoming language
Saying
singing
I am here
play me
——
My love for you is a painting
born in the consciousness
in the mind’s eye
My love for you
is the excitement and possibility
of a blank canvas
It is the pigments standing alone
or blended together -
it doesn’t matter
because it is all one and the same
My love for you
is the the careful stroking
with the softest brush
dipped into wetness
spreading it
sometimes carefully with great intent
sometimes recklessly -
it doesn’t matter
because it’s all one and the same
My love for you is
a vision longing
to be brought to reality
to be seen,
to be experienced,
to be interpreted in whatever way
you desire
——-
My love for you is a bruise
To be expected after
what you’ve been through
painful
throbbing
full of blood
a frantic flowing of cells coming in
right away right here right now
to help
to heal
You can wrap it
chill it
rub it
medicate it
It will still be there, evolving
The colors change and blend
and disappear over time
but are always ready to resurface
You may not have felt a thing
You may not even realize
or remember how
or where it came from
Just that
it is there now
——
My love for you
is a sudden storm
loud, violent, wet
harder than you thought it would be
coming without warning
so huge, so blinding
it obliterates everything else
It shakes you
with noise
with light
with power
It makes you run for cover
while it barrages you deluges you threatens to
drown
you
But let me tell you a secret
If you let it
come
let it
carry you
it will not be deadly
or sweep you away
rather just
a wave
that brings you to shore
——
My love for you
is waking up to the pre-dawn light
and feeling rested
and safe
and comfortable
Knowing that if you reach out
you will find you are not alone
my skin, warm and soft
eyes, open and kind
lips, parted
breasts
heart
sighs
all there
for you
——
My love for you
is an ocean
teeming with life
just below the surface
a river
flowing, curving
sometimes rushing
a pond
where lilies and lotus
stretch patiently
toward your light
——
My love for you
is the distance travelled
to see the hills, the valleys, the mountains, the waters, the trees
of another place
To see
itself
My love for you
is the distance travelled
to return home
——
My love for you
neither asks for nor requires
acknowledgment
Do with it what you will
Your will be done
My love for you
is behind that veil
You can gaze through it
with curiosity
with wonder
You can brush past it
with disinterest
or annoyance
My love for you
is on the floor
You can unfurl a carpet and cover it
You can scrub it like a bloodstain
You can sand it, scrape it away
or polish it
and leave it for all to see
My love for you
is a seed
plant it, tend it, harvest it
peel it, chop it, roast it
Put it in your mouth to decide
if the sweetness
and the bitterness
the salty and the savory
the smooth and the gritty
the scalding, the freezing
the melting
is to your liking
——
My love for you
is a hunter
perched high in the tree
waiting and watching
but also
just resting
Looking around at the view
Breathing quietly
Thinking of you
My love for you
sees its prey
the source of nourishment
there for the taking
there for the killing
My love for you
knows well it could kill
end the life
Knows well
it would rather
sit in awe
It would rather fill with
gratitude
My love for you
sits in a tree
and thinks of you
——
My love for you
is my lips pressed to your temple
My love for you
is a gasp
and a sigh of pleasure
My love for you is open
and willing
My love for you is aching for your touch
your presence
My love for you
finds its way
through my veins
my hands
through air and wire and current
through snow and fog
through darkness
to be at your side
to be at your feet
to be in your arms
to be
——
My love for you
never tires
no, really
it never tires
It never will
——
My love for you
is so huge
expanding in my chest
my lungs my veins my eyes
So permanent
so present
so always
so new
——
My love for you
is a gift
wrapped and hidden
It’s just what you didn’t even know you wanted
with the bonus of being
what you may not have thought
you needed
——
My love for you
uses paper and pen
canvas and paint
come and tears
to create itself
——
My love for you is
a newborn
happiest when lying in your arms
next to your heart
My love for you is
a girl
in a world of fantasy
Princes and fairies and talking animals
Who sees you on the playground
and offers you a role in her story
My love for you is
a teenager
she wants to fuck you
all the time
and
right now
My love for you is
busy with children
and loves you very much
but needs you to be elsewhere
just for a little while
My love for you
is suddenly
surprisingly
old
wrinkled, scarred
saggy, spotted
still and always sexy
wise, kind
Her heart still leaps
and her breath still catches
and her thighs still tremble
at the thought of you
——
My love for you
is a goldfish in a bowl
swimming contentedly in circles
thinking
this is the entire world
My love for you
is a puppy
eager, playful
hard to control
only wants to please you
motivated by your touch
your voice
and whatever treat you may have
in
your
pocket
My love for you
is a house cat
who prefers to be left alone
unless you are busy and then
begins to purr
at the sight of you
whether you are ready or not
leaps onto your lap
thinking
this is where
I want to be
My love for you is an old dog
No one knows how old, exactly
but it’s been there
lying in the sun
for as long as anyone can remember
If it could talk
it would tell you
how much it loves just lying there
in your presence
in your light
——
My love for you is
that hill,
that mountain
with that path
The one that’s calling to you
to climb it
to follow it wherever it leads
as high as you can go
My love for you says
Gather what you think you will need
food, water
comfortable shoes
sunscreen, bug repellent
first aid kit
and a walking stick for sure
Especially if you intend
to go the distance
to reach the top
to touch the sky
——
My love for you
is sitting beside this creek
Hearing it murmur and babble
Listening to the birds
sing amongst themselves
Watching the star-bright sparkles
as the sun sprinkles itself on
the rippling surface
Inhaling deeply
the scent of mud and water
heat and shade
decay and life
My love for you
is sitting beside this creek
taking it all in
giving it back to you
——
My love for you
is a cairn on a hilltop
Stones brought by unseen hands
placed carefully
somehow balancing
My love for you
finds a stone that is smooth
but sharp
Broken
but whole
The perfect size and shape
and sets it
right on top
——
My love for you
is heavy
It requires all my strength to carry it
It requires my mind, my muscles, my fascia and my focus
to even hold it
But don’t worry
I’ve been training for this
all
my life
——
My love for you
is so, so slippery
so wet
so warm
it invites you in
It is a nectarine
sun-warmed
perfectly ripe
Go get that knife I gave you
that old one,
fixed blade, sharp as hell
the one that has known
blood and sweat
Has ended lives and
in doing so
saved them
Take that nectarine
in your hand
Slice it cleanly
once, then again
until the flesh splits open
revealing a core
lined in wet satin
Trace the opening
Trail your finger there
then bring it to your lips
It will be
a joy
on
your
tongue
——
My love for you is
the Earth
the dirt, the stone
the water
the gorge created by
a glacier
that dragged through it
so long ago
it doesn’t even remember the pain
My love for you is
the Earth
holding wonders
treasures
glittering in caves so deep
so hidden
so precious
that only someone skilled
someone with the right tools
with intent
and patience
can locate the gemstones
and bring them
to light
——
My love for you is
this pen
this journal
this ink on this page
My love is these words
My love is these thoughts
My love is this time
this place
——
My love for you is
a map
folded neatly
or
haphazardly
full of sights to see
activities to experience
directions to go
lines to cross
paths to follow
places to explore
Unfold it
if you want to
——
My love for you
is a library
in an old university
with cracked walls
chipped paint
the smell of dust
and paper
My love waits
for you to explore
the old stacks
To run your fingers along the shelf
To stroke the spine
of this volume
or that
Pull one out
Open the cover
but gently,
gently
Old things are powerful
but they are also delicate
The librarian watches you
to see what
you will
choose
——
My love for you
is a house built in 1907
Solid, strong
Reinforced by years
of laughter and sorrow
Decorated by years
of blood, sweat, and tears
It’s been fed well
It loves takeout Thai
and s’mores at the backyard fire pit
It loves coffee and donuts
and fresh fruit
It loves holiday meals
and candlelight dinners
It has many stairs
worn smooth over time
It has hidden spaces
spare rooms
and stuck windows
There’s a little bit of water damage
remediated
The pipes are old
Sometimes they bang
The walls are nearly impenetrable
They sure don’t build’em
like they used to.
With a solid foundation, an expertly framed skeleton
Walls made of small strips of wood
attached to bigger strips of wood
held together with plaster
stuffed full of old newspapers
So hardened
you need
a sledgehammer
an explosive
to get through
My love for you is the “For Sale” sign
buried in the front yard.
My love for you
is vacant, open and ready
for you
to see it
and call it
home
——
My love for you is a closet full of clothes
all loved, all worn
all ready for any occasion
Colors and textures,
woven, knitted,
curated
It is full of items
that fit only you
——
My love for you
is a white cat
She is such a bitch
but also loving and sweet
if she likes you
She will eat what you give her
or maybe she won’t
if it’s not good enough for her
or to her liking
She will rub against you
just when you are trying to get out the door
Leaving little bits of herself all over you
It makes you smile even as you
try to brush it away
She wants attention
until she doesn’t
Wants your touch, but will bite if you’re
touching too much
You can stroke her
but under no circumstances are you allowed
to brush her
to get the mats out of her fur
Don’t try to trim her claws,
respect the claws, good sir
and don’t even think about bathing her
She worked hard for that ground-in dirt
Just accept
that’s how she
prefers to present herself
She is skittish and suspicious
though surprisingly fearless at times
She doesn’t really trust anyone
but for some reason
she trusts
you
You can keep her locked indoors
but she will not
be happy
She needs the freedom to roam
She might come back tonight,
or maybe tomorrow
but she will return
because you are
home
She’ll come if you call her
She’ll sleep between your thighs
She’ll wake you in the morning
when she’s
hungry
And then flop down on the floor
show you her soft belly
purring
saying
touch me
——
My love for you
is a specialized pickup truck
It’s rare
Very few people have one
It’s solid, not too tall
It runs smoothly
but will rev
and race
when pressed enough
It goes from 0-60 in a heartbeat
It has very sensitive steering
Sometimes the brakes grab when wet
But it does have keyless entry
In fact
you can turn it on
and warm it up
from wherever you are
at your command
The windows are tinted for privacy
but not too dark -
light gets in
but secrets are safe
The stereo goes up so loud that
your very bones
will vibrate
thrumming through
your chest
your heart
and you can sing
with your full voice
It will carry a lot
It will pull even more
But it does require fuel and regular
maintenance
It may not be new but
it’s all yours
if you think you can handle it
——
My love for you is
water
filling whatever shape you provide
transparent
refreshing
sometimes tepid
sometimes too hot to touch
sometimes so cold it can’t even move
until you warm it up
When you do
it will flow over you
with varying rates and speeds and pressures
but the result is the same
it will leave you smooth
shiny
like new
It will fill you up, cleanse you, baptize you
It will keep you alive
——
My love for you is
that sunset
That dragonfly - born in water
now swimming in the air
above us all
That stag, proud of his six
velvety points
That moon
My love for you is
that joker
coyote
Hiding in plain sight
Laughing at you for thinking you can stop him
He doesn’t know
that he’s you
My love for you is
the dust from the cars
the smoke from the fires
the pollen from the trees
carried through air
for all to experience
You can choke on it
or you can follow it and see if
anything grows.
——
My love for you is
this tiny house on wheels
From the outside
it may not look
like much
but inside
is an entire life
——
My love for you is
a mind
responding to every signal
from every sense
with
lightning speed
gathering information
sending back a message
yes
yes
just
like
that
——
My love for you
is a parade
You may not really want to be there
It’s too hot, too noisy
too much going on
When you notice
the joy the smiles the colors
When you notice
the music the laughter the rhythms
When you realize
there is cool water in your hand
shade above your head
and sweets at your feet
You may change your mind
——
My love for you
is a lesson you and I need to learn
and decipher
My love for you
is an assignment
a group project:
Take these random things
these emotions
these sensations
and make something new
——
My love for you
is eternal
Life itself began
because love awakened
and said
I am
——
My love for you
is beyond the love I have felt
for anyone, ever
My love for you
is deeply ingrained
written into my very cells
Etched
Tattooed
There before I was here
on Earth
again
My spirit is entwined with yours
We will still be orbiting together
even as others
even as we
cease to be
Our galaxies touch
made of the same stuff
formed together
formed separately
We shared the womb of time and space
——
I want you to be free
I want you to free yourself
I want you to see yourself
I want you to see love
reach for it with both hands
unafraid
Embrace it tenderly
tightly
knowing
it is
you
——
I have been
unconditional love
for you
always
I don’t know if you see it
I don’t know if you feel it
But I believe
I was there and
you were there
We touched and held
for a blissful sweet little moment
for an explosive, spirit-shaking
orbit-pausing
once in a lifetime
moment
——
My love for you
will turn and walk away
if that’s what's meant to happen
My love for you
will take a different path
leave you to yours
even if they diverge and
never reconnect
My love for you
will cradle you in its palms
hold you next to its heart
My love’s tears will fall
and bless you
And then my love
will lift its hands
The hands that held you
touched you
told you their truth
Those hands will stretch wide open
and wait for you to fly away
My love for you says
go go go
rejoices when you soar
My love for you
might very well become
a relic
in a vacuum-sealed glass case
in a museum nobody’s heard of
It will have a small white card
pinned next to it
that says
This love
perfectly preserved
and still functional
cannot be dated
It appears to be as old
as life itself
My love for you
is held there
on display
alive
waiting
It will continue to function in the silence
It will thrive in the stillness
My love for you
will let you go
