if you get too close, if you lean in,
you'll be turned into poetry.
when I say your name in one breath
as if it is a complete sentence
it will mean more than any other word could.

'always' you tell me, and it sounds like an oath.
it is far more than I deserve.
and so, when you held my hand,
it felt like I was dying.
but I felt at peace - my last breath
would have always been in your embrace.

I'm not sure how to love you,
I'm not ashamed to admit that I don't know
how to give myself to you
wholeheartedly.
but, I think I already do.
love you, that is.

I think I have for as long as I've known you
and before. perhaps
I have loved you since the beginning of time.
and so, when the universe dies
she will do so knowing I still love you.

in some ways, you were inevitable.
in others, we were predestined.
so, please, let me turn you into poetrty.
always.