First, you must let yourself be swallowed by her
You must relish the way she digests you
You must watch the cold gear of a tired jaw grind you to sand
You must taste her tastes
And smell her scents
You must become her if you wish to love her

Second, you must navigate her
You must become the cartographer of her hips
You must name every hair
You must know every scar and blemish like a captain knows his shore
Understand all the ways you fit into her arms best
You must memorize her rocky coasts if you wish to love her

Third, you must bleed for her
You must let her pain bruise you instead
You must drown in your own tears just to keep her cheeks dry
You must kneel for her on broken glass
Become her knight
You must be willing to give your soul to know she’ll never have to give hers if you wish to love her

Fourth, you must kiss her
You must taste the salt of her skin between your cheeks with every breath
You must bind her like a captive in your lips
You must make time to just
Kiss her
Kiss her like she’s the last person on earth
You must make her your favorite flavor if you wish to love her

Fifth, you must hear her
You must make your cheeks curl like hers when she recounts her tales
You must welcome her into your ears like your favorite song
You must hum the contours of her voice as you float between her spaces
Feel the bass drum of her heartbeat
You must dance to the sound of her breath if you wish to love her

To write a love poem for her
You must write with the words she taught you
You must speak in tongues
You must spell it out in the colors of her eyes
In the long hugs that mean only themselves
You must be fluent in her if you wish to love her

If you want to write her a love poem
You must first fall in love with her
And by then
You’ll have already done it