Instead

I will not snicker at your insecurities each morning, noon, and night;

Instead, I will get swept up in a tornado of laughter with you

about the way you sneeze when you feel bashful

until we both think our hearts are going to burst right out of our chests --

because I love you

I will not tell you how you could have improved my day

had you only tried a tad bit harder.

Instead, I will thank you for being a part of my day,

for trying your best,

for being the light of my life--

because I love you

I will not fight with you until our lives are overrun with chaos and darkness

Like the turbulent storms sailors tell tales about during their journeys overseas.

Instead, I will make sure our love is the kind comparable to the calmness of a lake,

so still and calm one may think it is glass, yet lively and colorful for all of the fish that swim beneath its picturesque surface--

because I love you

I will not tell you that you should get braces because your teeth are a little crooked,

for mine are just the same.

Instead, I will remind you each and every day that your smile takes my breath away,

and I would be a fool to want to change a thing about you--

because I love you  

I will not take our love for granted,

because we never know what life has in store for the both of us.

Instead, I will cherish each and every moment that I get to hold your heart in my hands

and hope that I will get to cherish an infinite number more--

because I love you

- A. Leftwich