When I look at you I see love
It lives all over your body
From the tuffs of your hair
To the tips of your finger tips
To the right side of your face that smiles more than your left
And that love, you wear it like a metal
And it makes you bold, so bold it
Makes me nervous and forget how to talk
And how to tell you that my love is more subtle than that.
You have to listen to it to see it
It comes out late at night after you place your metal on the dresser
And I’m not so blinded-
When your eyes are shut tight
And then I know the only way to your heart is through your ears
And I whisper to you that I love the smell
Of your skin
Or that your lips on my head is the only validation of my worth
That I will ever need.
I love you in words that live hidden in my head
And I know you look for them when you pull me
In closer, when you search my body for mutually shared feelings
But I’ve never been one to sew on feeling to blouses
Because I’ve never trusted a laundry machine
Not to tether my heart’s delicate fabric
So please, just listen to me speak.
Note the pauses in my sentences and
The dips of my voice, the clicks my tongue makes
When I say your name and follow it with I love you
Please know that your name has never been as safe as it is
When I hold it in mouth.
And I will never bit down on it
And love will always be on the tip of my tongue
And you will be the only one safe there.