you are beautiful.
you are tragically beautiful.
you are notre dame
at night.
you are the eiffel tower
amidst bombshells.
you are the house of commons
and the house of lords.
you are the lone beam
standing after Katrina.
you are the one baby sea turtle
who makes it off the beach.
you are the dark side of the moon.
you are the patch of sand
struck by lightning.
you are the remains discovered
after the plane goes down.
you're a smooth puddle in a parking lot.
you are the creaky stair
that warns of intruders.
you are all of the red skittles.
you are Job 3:14.

we are not a fairy tale
and we never were
our hands don't automatically
find one another's
and we don't kiss in the rain
or plan our futures
together under night stars
our kisses are sloppy
and we aren't lip-locked
every two seconds
i don't steal his sweatshirts
and fall asleep in them
or take silly pictures with him
while kissing his face
but we never fail to say
"i love you" each day
and make sure we mean it
every time it's said
we do what we can for
one another and i
always tell him what i
adore about him
whether it be in stanzas
or hushed whispers
against his chest in our
numerous embraces
because love isn't meant to
have a stereotype
and the things you see
bound in paperbacks
are teeming with seemingly
indestructible souls
but we are fragile creatures
and love is a fragile
flower that must be
tended to daily
we are not a fairy tale
and we never were
but we're crafting our
own story to tell
one sloppy kiss and
one "i love you"
at a time.