for keeps

There's something sacred-- and profane--
about trying to construct perfection
from the ordinary and everyday.
Take these people you love
and envision something beyond
the weeks allotted to you--
Imagine cats and companionship,
support and dinner every night,
pretending to be heroes on the weekends.
Consider closeness, longed-for intimacy,
hands held, hair stroked,
holding each other up through the long nights.

body language

I speak body language like a foreigner.
Overenunciated and ungainly,
missing nuance and subtext,
accent marking me as alien.

It takes me time to understand:
eyes lingering on hands, on eyes,
misinterpreting the quirk of lips
or the set of hips, of legs, of feet.

Don't hold it against me if I get it wrong,
if I lean too close or touch too long,
if I smile and nod when I should frown
or stare...

I'm just trying to comprehend
what you mean
when you watch me quietly, hands open,
lips barely parted around a sigh.

daydream

I spend a lot of time lost in thought,
constructing perfection from the everyday--
deliberation where there's been accident,
intention replacing cherished mistakes.

I dream of more love than I know what to do with,
though believe me, I'd figure it out soon enough,
and it seems like it could be within my grasp
if I could only find the words to make my case.

It's not such a stretch-- a step to the left,
a tilted head, hands interlaced, a parallel universe
where we could belong to each other.

"We love you. Come with us. We'll make it okay."

the difference between "I love you" and "I'm in love with you"

There's a lot they have in common.

Both imply care, concern for well-being,
a desire for company, for nearness.

But "I love you" focuses on you,
while "I'm in love with you" is more about me.

"I'm in love with you" is something that happened to me
unintentionally, accidentally, mysteriously.

"I love you" is a conscious choice;
it's something I decided to do--
"I'm in love with you" is more involuntary.

They're at different levels of passion:
"I'm in love with you" is feverish, desperate,
while "I love you" is less hysterical, it's more bearable.

Of course, there's a difference in who you say it to:
"I love you" is for family, friends, even pets,
but "I'm in love with you" is mostly for people you want to sleep with.


All that said, I'm still not sure which one I want to say to you.

They're both true. You happened to me and I chose you.
You make me desperate, but you're bearable.
I love you, but I'm also in love with you.

Just tell me you feel either of the two.

(no subject)

"When do I ever make things easier for you?"

It's not an idle question,
though you mean to make me smile.

You don't make things easy.
You won't meet me halfway,
and it takes courage to go the whole way myself,
but at the end, you're there,
and the press of lips is worth the angst.

You don't make it easy for me to do things,
but you do make my life better,
just by listening to my woes,
lips quirked, putting aside cynicism
to tell me that "everything will be fine,"
that "we'll be okay."