Because I love you

I can distinguish the smell of your fart from somebody else’s

in a room full of people.

I will happily endure yet another

miasmic episode

like the one at the Christmas party

and the very thought of this will

make me miss you when we are apart.

Because I love you

 

I will abide the long-distance

again

because being sundered from you

is better than being

close to someone else.

Hearing your voice on the phone

makes me giddier than the

flirty eyes of my co-workers, which

I cannot deny—it’s in my

genes—excites me. But

I’ve made a choice

and because I love you this choice

overpowers

my evolutionary baggage.

Because I love you

 

I am not ashamed to

abdicate my power

and be subject to your affection.

I know how terrible you are

and you know how ugly I am.

It doesn’t matter.

We share a closet—

we undress ourselves

and we protect each other’s

hideous secrets.

We share a bed and take turns

being the mother.

Because I love you

 

I am not afraid to admit

that despite what they say about

independence in marriage

I know the truth,

which is that you and I are completely and hopelessly

bound to each other. We are not

free

we are never totally secure

because we cannot imagine a world without

each other.

This is scary.

I don’t care.

Because I love you means

I will fight for the right to remain

yours whatever the cost.

Because

 

I love you. These words are

trite

but I will continue saying them for as long as they are

true

because I know how they make you feel.

Because I love you

 

I will always discover reasons

why I love you.