love me, like I love you

when I first saw your face

there was something about

the way your goofy spectacles

enlarged your eyes like a cartoon

from my childhood.

when I first spoke with you

the sound of your voice

felt like velvet draping around

my eardrums.

when I first held your hand

my heart beat so loudly

I'd forgotten I was alive

because it felt ethereal.

when I first spent a night

thousands of miles away

from you, the warmth of

your blanket nourished me.

when I first wrote a letter

to you, my pen wouldn't move

an inch, yet tears blotted the

paper like transparent ink.

when I first shared a meal

with you on our new sofa

I knew that feeling was

what I want from life.

so, when I lost you

it hurt like dying

and it still does.