it took a few moments,
but we eventually found it.
the most amazingly beautiful
place to rest our fragile bodies
and our unique minds.

we sat up for a few moments,
giggling at our high thoughts
and eating our sour gummy
worms. eventually, we just
stared into each other's eyes.

"let's lay down," they suggested.

a soft chuckle left my chapping
lips as we laid back onto the
scratchy and dry grass. putting
on a romantic playlist full of indie
rock, we stop speaking.

we attempted to look up at the sky,
but it seemed to get increasingly
blinding as each moment slipped by.
we closed our eyes, seeing an assortment
of bright yellows and oranges overhead.

our breathing synced, our minds became
one. somehow, despite neither of us uttering
even a single syllable. we were communicating.
bonding, even. for hours, we remained in this
comfortable marijuana-induced silence.

I love you
Truly, deeply
You aren’t afraid of my scars
You show me your own
You don’t hold back
You treat me as an equal
And I don’t know how to express to you
That I absolutely adore
Everything about you
You are my love
My platonic soulmate

I desperately want us to be the same person

I desperately love to cling

To every common
Reaching
Detail

And claim it

For the both of us

I've been scolded for using the word 'love' too often
throwing it away, as if it had to be secured for romantic encounters or within a length of time
like it might become tired or meaningless
but what if I am so full of love I can't help but overflow with it?
what if I've known platonic love, tender love, fervent love?

so I'll say 'I love you', only when I mean it
and I hope my abundance of it never runs dry
I hope it flows out of me effortlessly, because there will never be such thing as loving too much

In romantic relationships
You speak Latin
And your empire falls

In platonic relationships
You speak Greek
And think about caves

Ich kann die Liebe ,die ich für dich habe, in jeder Sprache erzählen
Ich kann deine schönen Augen in jeder Sprache erzählen

Du bist schweigsam
Du bist einsam
Aber ich habe dein Herz geliebt

Ich kann die Liebe ,die ich für dich habe, in jeder Sprache erzählen
Aber ich kann dir meine liebe nicht sagen
Weil ich weiß dass du mich nicht liebst

everywhere is the smell of you.
its not unpleasant. the *****
offends the nose, i will admit,
but you can hardly be blamed,
and everything else is fine,
and you are doing ok.
i love you, i love you, we said that
a lot. and that’s ok! for we are
friends. and friends love one another.
if i’m honest my memory is hazy.
i know i tried to  help you —
held back your hair,
kept you upright,
walked you back to the safety of home,
and held on to you.
it was silly of course,
i knew you would be fine,
but god knows a very
loud part of me could not
bear to see you like that.
in any case, you’re ok now, and that
is All That Matters.

there’s nothing to analyse here.
i know there’s nothing at all to see,
to notice, but i haven’t stopped trying.
because i know i love you —
i knew it so clearly then, and
i know it just as clearly now.
i can’t help but wonder if that’s it.
do i love my friend, my best friend,
the best friend i could ask for
or is there something else at play
here, something i’ve locked away,
something more intense.
i don’t want to believe it.
so i focus on the i love you
because i know it’s true.
i feel it so clearly and so strongly,
more colourful than anything else i’ve felt
in years. i love you, and i know you love me too
but nonetheless i will lie
awake and ashamed
of the vast realm of possibilities
for hidden meanings to those words
i drunkenly slurred to you that night.
i will have to keep looking
under the surface of that i love you.