Whenever people say actions speak louder than words
I wonder if they’ve ever met a writer.
Or maybe it’s not that the words mean more
just that I understand them better.
You’ve always been the type who gets that.

God making Eve from man’s rib does not make a pretty metaphor
for how you feel about me.
Thank you very much
but I was made from the same dust you were
and acting like I’m from anything less is not a good way to tell me
you love me.
I don’t want to be a part of you
I’m too busy being part of something bigger
And it’s not to say that I don’t want you to join,
but don’t expect me to fall in need with you.

I don’t want love
older than the Bible
love me some way new

Put it in words no one has before.
Love me like a hitman
unforgiving
and with little regard for your own safety.
Let’s be—something like youth
loud and crazy and naïve and optimistic,
the sort of way I’ll miss when you’re gone

Kiss me
like a stunt double
fearless even when you shouldn’t be
Let’s do the things everyone else is afraid of.
Love doesn’t mean never saying you’re sorry
it means never saying I quit.

You know Mama always told me to find someone who can make me laugh,
so tell me you love me in silly ways
like my bra
You’re sturdy and supportive
but it’s not like I always want you around.

Love me like the ocean loves sea glass
with ferocity and fierceness
and forcefully enough to rub my rough away
to sand down my sharp edges

Teach me the difference between attention and affection.
It’s walking a tightrope,
somewhere between terror and exhilaration
but you’re never going to know your limits
unless you push them
Promise me something new
I don’t want to hear the faded lines
and old clichés,
because no one’s in love like us,
right?
No one’s got this feeling
bigger than my heart, than my body,
I swear I only know what a soul is
when I’m with you.

Maybe I love you
because you’re the only one
I don’t have to tell
how to love me back