love, for the future

i love you

i love you

i love you

will you love me?
not only now
when things are new
but also then …

when i scorch the soup
when i forget to iron your shirt
when it takes too long for me to choose an outfit
when i want to do nothing but nap
when i growl at incompetent drivers
when i sort laundry into greys & browns & reds & purples (not just lights and darks)
when my blood sugar is too low or too high
when i lose my eyesight
when my skin becomes unsightly everywhere
when i lose a foot or a leg
when i forget who you are …

even then?

then

come live in my heart,
in the smile in my eyes,
in the warmth of my embrace,
in the tenderness of my caress.

here you will find home,
a retreat from the crazy
busyness of the outside world.

come know that you are safe,
that you are sheltered
from the buffeting of harsh winds
of criticism,
in a bastion of belief
in who you are,
who you are becoming,
and who you can be.

come rest in the hollow
between my breasts,
above my heart, where
time
is measured
not by 140-character updates
but by
the steady beat
of my affection
for you.