I know not what love is,
For my heart instead is one of pain,
If not anger and regret.
I knew nothing of tenderness
Until you took me strongly in your arms.

In your arms I am safe,
Hidden behind a steel gate,
Safe from the bombardment
Of thought, of doubt, of loneliness.

And yet in your strength
I find a certain soft something,
Sweet like honey and salted like tears.
It is the thing that moves me
To return this tenderness.
To hold you like a child in my arms,
To kiss your forehead,
And give you what is left
Of this tired, bleeding heart--
A pathetic offering, but sincere
As all I have to give.

Jon, my love, there is peace and perfection here
To see you sleeping by my side
And to know if I have ever loved
I have loved you.
Wholly,
And with all of my being.