i think
i love you

is the type of text i am tempted to send at four am
when we are in a purgatory of affectionate words
and the whole world sits still
holding its breath because every word you type is made beautiful
because of its very nature as a word that crossed your mind

i think
i love you

when you have exhausted every possible way there is to tell me about your childhood
and i don't care that you told me this story before
these are tokens of affection i greedily keep to myself
i wish i could hear your voice when you tell me these things
because i haven't heard it so long and i'm becoming tone deaf to anything that isn't you

i think
i love you

and potentially this isn't the type of thing i should want to say
to someone who is my friend,
to whom i say love only in the context of enjoying their company
potentially we shouldn't be talking well past midnight
when i am far more prone to slip-ups and confessions

you asked me
about my stories too
like you would gladly listen to me tell you
about the time i cut my thigh on the edge of the sink
or the first time a boy put his hands on me
and it felt like they were eating away at my skin

and i love you
because i know you have hands made of silk
and because you are blissfully unaware of how soft you are
and i love you because often you ask me why someone would

potentially
i am okay with the fact that i could accidentally tell you i love you

i would gladly tell you
i love you because of the way you hold yourself
and know your place in your world
in my heart
because there are anxieties chewing away at my brain
that i can ignore, or even stop, with the guidance of your words

and i love you because you will always ask me how i'm doing
and because you will talk to me for as long as you can
just because you’re halfway across the continent and i miss you;

i think
i love you