When I say I love you,
It's not me and it's not you,
It's not just love. It's
You and me, and
What we've done together.

Love can be those springtimes
When in each other's arms
We whiled away the wisps
Of youth as though forever
We were young.

Love can be those hard times
When we stared at each other
And saw the darkness
In our souls and the days
Of sad drudgery.

Love can be the child
Who came bursting in
And changed everything
From just you and me to
Something so much more.

Love could be the smoothing
Out of roughness and of toughness
Into a soothing happy
Day-to-day agreement that
Things are as they always will be.

Love could be the deep draw
Of breath, almost a sigh,
Of relief that so much is
Past, and peacefulness
Fills our days.

But when I say I love you,
It's all of those and more.
It's not me. It's not you.
It's not just love. It's
Life.

When I say I love you,
It's embracing the world
That we are walking through
Stanza after stanza
Holding hands.

02/14/2006

Posted on 02/14/2006
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