When I Said, "I Love You"

When I said, "I love you,"

Fourteen years ago,

I meant in the depths of who I am--

Much more than emotion,

An intentional intuitive choice.

 

Things were bright and shiny then:

We made the best of presentations,

As lovers always do, at first,

All genuine, no deception intended.

 

As the years have gone by,

The flaws surfaced--

All that we have been

That make us what we are,

The warts, the scars, the failures--

Threatening to destroy us.

 

The Power that drew us

To each other

Defines us as much more than

Our warts, our scars, our failures

Protects us from all threats,

And lets us see each other

From his perspective.

 

Today, I say, "I love you,"

Fourteen years  later,

I mean in the depths of who I am--

Much more than emotion,

An intentional intuitive choice.

 

Stan Sanford

Valentine's Day 2013