Little Things

Why do I love you? Let me count the ways ...

I love you because
you count steps,
security cameras,
emergency exits,
and now
you impart these things with me
as you guide me by hand
through stores, subways,
and city streets.

I love you because
you write memos
about students and lesson plans
in a different color
for each day of the week--
blue for Monday, but never dark blue,
green for Tuesday, pink for Wednesday,
purple for Thursday, and red for Friday--
just to keep things interesting
and keep track of time.

I love you because
you perforate
sandwich bags at the seams
and refasten them backwards,
just to see how I'll react.

I love you because,
even though you hate cherries,
you can knot
a cherry stem with your tongue
not once, but twice,
if it's long enough.

I love you because,
by reflex, your left hand
mimics your right,
because you wipe all-purpose flour
on the seat of your jeans
and forget about it,
because you make me try
foods you don't like
just in case I will,
because you don't care for
lemon wedges in your water
or tomatoes on your burgers
and give them to me,
rather than waste them.

I love you because
you read billboards
in a radio voice,
because you interrupt me mid-speech
with impassioned kisses,
because you answer yes
to any question
whose answer
is all of the above,
because you sing
off-key and in falsetto
with one song,
then with accidental harmony
and quiet feeling the next.

I love you because,
when you don't know what to say,
you offer reassurance
in music you share with me,
because you say my name
with gentleness instead of
the harsh tones I remember,
because you reach for me at night
and profess your love in sleeptalk,
because you are
beautifully
and unapologetically
you.