thank you
for loving the parts of me
i have not learned to love yet
thank you
for holding my broken pieces together
even as my rough edges scrape against your own
even as the softest parts of you
are rubbed raw by the parts of me i could do without

i am sorry
if sometimes i do not tell you i love you enough
it is only because i love you so much
and so deeply
i forget it needs to be said, because loving you is so much a part of me
i forget to tell you how i love and appreciate you
the way i would forget to tell my lungs or legs

i am trying to be better for you
until i can be better for myself
until the waters of time have worn my rough edges down
to sea glass smooth and shining
until the parts of me i could do without
fit neatly into the mosaic of parts i could never do without
and then all you will feel when you touch me
or hold me
will be the softness of my skin
against yours