I’ve been “loved” before
I’ve been “loved” based on moments that warrant affection
and I’ve begged for it back
when it waned

I learned to earn his “love”
and to prove myself worthy
in each one
of his moments

But now
you

You love me like your love
is the natural result
of the person I am
and not of the way I have acted
today

You
love me
unconditionally
in each one of our moments

There's a stretch of time when you know it
but you can't say it
because you're scared you won't hear it back
and so you hold it as a secret
afraid to take it out and break it.

There's a moment in time when you say it
and wish you'd said it long ago,
the very moment you first thought it
just so that you could have seen
the face you love
explode into a smile like you've never seen before
that much earlier.

He makes me feel
like a little girl.

You
make me feel like a woman.

Right now, I'm just not ready
to grow up.

Our love story looks like a heart monitor
keeping track of how mine reacts to you.
We've got so many spikes and dips
that sometimes I wonder
if all the lows are worth the way
my heart races around you.

She says "I love you"
like it is a question,
like she's asking
"Do you love me too?"

She considers hesitation
as a clear indication
that his answer is
"Not anymore."