I don't think stating that you make me melt would suffice, even if entirely clichè-

It's the icecream cone in the hand of a child during summer,
Melting away.

That's what you do to my soul when you first wake up and smile with your mouth closed,

And your first breath is dedicated to saying good morning to just me.

Bottle it up, dip my pen into it, and write you out pages and pages about the ways you make me melt-

It could be the way your skin warms against mine on cold nights,

The way your eyes ignite over the curves of my mind, the curves of my hips.

It could be the way your lips light fire to my spine when they embrace my own,

Or even when they whisper silly nothings into my ears.

Yes, I do melt at the sight of you thinking silently, within solely your own head.

I melt when you sing off key and drunkenly dance off beat.

I melt when you linger in the doorway and push your hair back the way I would right after you style it, simple to get a rise out of you.

I melt at the way your mind revolves around the finer things and not the ticking of a clock; you haven't time for keeping time, only time for what's important.

I melt when you laugh and when you smile, when you find me desirable even at my worst and when you close your eyes as you fall asleep.

I dip my pen into the ways you make me melt and write it all out for you to see

In hopes that maybe it'll have the same effect that you've had on me.

I tried keeping my love to myself and it left me empty-

Bottling up all I have left me heavy.

The weight anchored me to a quiet ocean floor beyond the sunlight.

So I took my love and divided it up in ways I can give to everyone-

The corny yet punny sense of humor, the hand to hold, the advice even when you don't want it, the adventure seeker, the invested listening, the lover, the 2 am "I'm thinking too much my heart might implode" texter, the hopeful disposition, the empathy, the person you can call only when you need.

I learned that keeping all my love kept me in the dark,

And giving it all to one left me eventually alone.

I learned that in order to float back up from the depths, I had to love far and wide;

I learned that this is how I must be to stay alive.

Some things remain-

Summer storms remind me of you,
And if I play the right music I fall in sync with the rhythm and let my heart dance to the tune of you and me, the songs my heartstrings would play when your fingers strummed them so.

I find myself pulled off to sides of roads
Either immersed in poetry for the ghost of us or immersed in my mind where your ghost resides and sometimes haunts me with the irrational notion that I lost the best.

I find the things I'd like to share with you
And find myself untyping the message to let you know because you'll read it but you won't read into it. In between the lines of it all, it simply says "I miss you."

I curse the way my heart curves
Around your figure and around what was, around what could've been and what was lost. I curse the way I find my heart still shamelessly open to yours.

Some things remain,
And I curse myself for merely wishing you had.

how is it that i nurtured my heart and made it so,
cohabitated with it and let it grow,
yet even if i needed it and it needed me,
my ribcage was a cage and my heart just wanted to be free

among the wildflowers and fresh air,
along the skylines without a care,
amidst the sea and between the stars,
why is it that my heart and body feel so far

my heart can't stay in this cage for long
because it can't continue to sing the same song-
my heart outgrew it's home and flew away,
my heart was never meant to stay

my heart was never mine nor will never be,
only this i am sure of you see-
my heart can't rest easy in this ribcage home,
because here it feels so alone

it belongs among the trees and sea,
it belongs among the world in front of me.
my heart never belonged to the structure of my bones-
for here it felt heavy as stone

my heart is wild and angsty and true-
it feeds off of sunlight and new views.
my heart stopped beating because of rushing blood,
but beat only at the sight of a rising sun

The ink is dry and the pages are turned,
The words have been said, our candle has burned

Down to the bare wick, wax creating pools upon the floor-
Burning into the night until no more.

Burning fuel and fire until it was gone,
Continuing on until we realized it was wrong

To light a match to a candle that would soon cease,
One that wouldn't light us to a path of ease.

The candle blew out, the place became cold,
As did my hands when they had nothing to hold.

You blew out my flame, a fire in my eyes-
All you had to do was say your goodbyes.

Surely the sunrise is enough light for me to see,
But the nighttime leaves me blind as could be-

I am blinded by the "miss you's" and the forgotten calls
Of when I answered and began to fall.

Surely the sunrise is a sign of a new day,
Thought what isn't new is what I continue to say-

Of course I miss you, of course I care,
Yet telling you would elicit a blank stare.

I know what we are, I know where we stand,
Though I bet sometimes you miss the touch of my hands.

My hands don't matter though,
And coming up empty handed is how I show

That the feeling of you slipping through my fingers
Will be the only trace of you that will ever linger.

As a writer, meeting someone that left me at a loss for words says more about him than I ever could.

And if my kid ever comes to me with tear stained cheeks because they loved someone too much,
They love like I do,
I'll hold them and say,

"Baby, your heart is big enough for the two of us, like the popcorn bucket at the movies-
It's absolutely HUGE:
Surely you could share it with just about everyone in the theater, but you'll be left with nothing.
Yes, sharing is good. But you can't deal out your heart like a deck of cards to people with flimsy hands who can't grasp what you deliver.

Baby, you love entirely. Your whole soul loves the way the ocean envelopes the sand during high tide. You wash over the beaches and create storms that can scare people away. Baby, someone will see the calm in your storm and stay. I promise.

Baby, you love deeply. Yet again you are an ocean and not everyone can dive deep down like you do. The snorkel set will do no justice for the depths your heart reaches. Wait for a deep diver who isn't afraid of the dark, when your darkest parts come to light and your deep diver sees you for who you are. Wait for the person who is going to shine a light and create a new current in your life.

Baby, you gotta open up your heart but know when to shut it. You don't deserve anything less than the best. Forget what people say, remember what you feel. You have a heart of pure gold and no fool deserves to eye at it. You deserve someone who is going to love you like you love them, or someone who will teach you that love is more than what you already know. Love those who love you back my dear.

Speaking of shutting, don't ever think shutting everyone out means you'll be safe. Life is meant for love. So don't cork off like those little model ships in bottles. You know what a ship is good for? Sailing. Send your heart sailing through all the turmoil until you see the horizon. You know what your heart is good for? Loving. Don't bottle yourself up baby.

My baby, you're going to mess up. Someone you love will mess up too. Love them through the mess, hug it out and move on. Let love be what gets you through the scrapes and cuts when you fall down or trip over trivial tribulations.

Baby, as much as you love others, you gotta love yourself. You gotta love your toes and your limbs, your eyes and your lungs. You have to love your brain and veins, your skin and your self. No one will ever be able to love you the way you should love yourself, not even me sweet pea. Love you the way you want to be loved.

And baby, you'll get hurt. Love again. Love love love. Love until it's a native language you can only show people. Love until it's a language you know fluently. Love until it is your creed, your life, your way. Love is loving yourself, to fight for what you deserve, fighting alongside people that you love, and always loving with all you got. Baby, love the only way we have ever know-

Wholly, genuinely, openly, loudly.

Just love baby, love the way I love you."