my love for you is a promise
that you will be safe, and grow old, and be well.
my love for you means
that even while you can't understand electricity
or gas or power or bills,
there will always be light,
and there will always be heat.
my love for you means you will never lack an advocate,
a defender, a companion, a friend.
my love will see that your little hands
and your little feet and all your little toes
are never broken, or bruised.
when you are tired, my muscles will work enough
for two of us. when you are angry,
my heart will make enough peace for us both.
and when you wake in the night,
upright and full of fear,
my hands and my voice will be there,
sure as sunlight, soft as spring.
my love for you is a promise
that while i am in it, there will be a path in this world
for your feet. and my love for you is a commitment
that when i leave it, the world
will be better for the love i have left.