Love

carefully
…and slow

i would say
love

those poisonous four letters
that instantly
erode
green-chute couples

i would say
love
is it too soon?

no.

no, in love
or
love
and loving
her
is all at once
in me

and i can’t count
all the ways i love
in the stars
(even if i could count so high)

so this
is
one

one star
one heartbeat
one four letters
(one sadsweet too-small poem)

one one one
love

and dare i say
i love her

she would
run

but
i feel a love
that swims into the channels
woven in my chest
i feel a love
growing in my hair
i feel a love
that ribbon-ties our hands
and breathes into that
fuzzy place
behind her neck

i will not be her
construction paper valentine
nor will she be mine
and I Love You
between stiff greeting folds
will never do

but there is a secret
hidden in her mouth
and when i see her speak
i feel it