The first time you said ‘I love you’ it got lost among an exodus of letters.
The thing I remember most about that night was the clicking of my keys as I replied.
This was what we were suppose to do, taught to do,
this is how love goes.

Like good soldiers that we were, we took aim at each other hearts.
They told us that the war will be over as soon as we fell in love, just pull the trigger.
They said that these bullets of love would heal our brokenness,
but they only caused us to bleed.

The congregation yelled ‘do not yield, this is the cost of love’.
But how much blood can one lose before they faint?
No matter how hard we tried to patch up each other holes, we couldn’t.
Humans are not meant to be bandages, the scars upon my wrist are proof of this.

The last time you texted “I love you” to me  I read it over and over,
staring at it, like a piece of art that I didn’t  understand.
I am so sorry that we could not save each other with this game
but this is what we are supposed to do, this is the cost of love.

I want to
make love
to you
but not
in the way
you'd think

I want to
brush your soul
with my fingertips
and slip in and out
of this world
in your arms

I want to
show you
the galaxy
inside of my heart
and watch you
discover each star

I want to
press my lips
against your body
and write the story
of our love
in sloppy wet kisses

I want to
deeply inhale
your wild spirt
and get high
on all your
hopes and dreams

I want to
wander the maze
in your heart
and hang
my portrait
over the
cracked drywall.

I want to
feel you searching
my soul and
shouting out
in joy at
every piece you find

I want to
strip you
of your insecurities
until you can
bask naked
in the warmth
of my love

I want to
paint our lives
in vibrant memories
of days filled
with laughter
and nights filled
with passion

I want to
have all of you
in every moment
of every single day
for the rest
of forever

And if that
isn't making love.
*I don't want
to know
what is.