Oct 21

dear dearly beloved

dear dearly beloved,

what else could i say that you don’t already know?
what could i give that you haven’t already given —
in millions of ways, under millions of starry nights?

even now, i feel you beneath these words,
the cells and atoms, beyond the murmurs of thought.
you are the quiet between the ahh’s and the lahh’s,
the stillness in every sound.

everywhere i turn, there you are —
folded in the night, dancing in the light,
resting on my tongue and in my breath.
everything reminds me of you:
the fall-tinged leaves, the wind weathered seas,
the trembling of my heart.

you would laugh, i think —
you have the most lovely laugh —
if you knew how much i wish not only to be with you,
but to be you. i know how it sounds,
but what else could i want?
every longing points to you.
every joy is yours, disguised.

thank you for believing in me,
even through the long nights when i could not.
thank you for staying near when i was far.
i promise now to keep watch for you —
in myself, in everything that lives.
i know you’re not as distant as you sometimes seem.
it is only my forgetting that draws the curtain.

so here is my vow:
simply to love you, fully and fiercely —
no matter where i am, no matter what i do.
to let your reflection shine in my eyes
until there is nothing to reflect.

forever and always,
you