Three Simple Words

I love you

Three simple words

That’s all they really are, just words

Anyone can write them down

I love you. I love you. I love you.

See? I did it, but did I mean it?

Three simple words

Apart they’re just letters in a jumble

Yet when they’re together it’s all clear

Together they create something meaningful

Something like you and me

Three simple words

He said to me

Who was I to question him?

I let myself believe, I let him rid me of any doubt

Then he took my heart and ripped it clean out of my chest

I forgave him because he loved me

He took out his drunken anger on his personal punching bag

I forgave him because he loved me

Then he left me because I no longer loved myself

I love you

Three simple words

It was a while before I believed in those words again

But when I hear them come out of his mouth, I have no doubts

It’s the little things that capture me

The flecks of green in his blue eyes

His chin tilting down before he smiles

The way he looks at me when he thinks that I don’t notice

I love you

Three simple words

They don’t mean that we always get along

They mean that when we fight you don’t leave me with bruises

They remind me that I could be homeless and you would still want me

They mean that we are equal

I love you

Three simple words

Out of all of the words in the dictionary

Three basic, one syllable words

Those are the ones that create so much pain and happiness

Love is about accepting that we aren't perfect

Accepting that it's okay to be independent and it's okay to be dependent

It's about the acceptance of who we are 

We only appreciate what we have when we know what it's like without

Those three simple words