Because I Love You...

I have not loved in a long time

Maybe never in this life, but an old soul can still be naïve

And a walk around the world is short when you know so little

Quality does not command comparison nor points of reference

But rather knowledge of oneself

Because I know myself, I can love you

And I haven’t known since last time

It’s something that’s never overbearing

That I’m not seeking but is never unwelcome

Compromise no longer crosses my mind; even that is a chore

Saying this is something I have accepted is too deliberate a title

I don’t “accept” air into my lungs, nor love into my heart

It seeps in by a force beyond my control

However, I can control how these things are spent

I can’t help that I love you, but because I do, you only receive what you deserve

I didn’t meet myself until last week and now this gaze you’ve placed upon my skin is the first

It’s an exchange of words in a dying language, a mother tongue we share

We share every moment despite geography and the rising and falling of astronomical bodies

And what we don’t share are the things that never existed for us

So when you use your candle to light mine, we retain the same strength of flame

And the brilliance of this thing that nourishes us can be found in the shells in which we live.