What is love if not
your small and slender hands,
locked and intertwined with mine,
our bodies swaying
to the sound of our heartbeats
mixing together

What is love if not
your eyes gazing into mine,
their depth forever drawing me in,
caressing my soul,
my very being,
stealing the air from my lungs

What is love if not
this feeling of hope,
my body sagging against yours,
content, safe, happy,
while you recite to me
poetry that might as well have been written for us

What is love if not
you with your hands in my hair,
your lips stained red
moving against mine,
your smile bright and blinding,
shining more brilliantly than the stars

What is love if not
moments of pain
and hard work that just might
pay off if it doesn’t break us first,
leading to a world of darkness
unless we learn to let the light in

What is love if not
a never-ending spectra of colors,
yours mixing with mine,
not always seamlessly but forever trying our best to
paint our canvas in bright swirls
of respect and tolerance

What is love if not
all this,
the good, the bad,
the beautiful, the ugly,
this carousel ride
in our roller coaster lives

What is love if not
you.