a love poem

I am trying to write a love poem

But it comes out more like being afraid 
And unafraid and completely out of control

I am trying to write a love poem 
But it comes out less like being stripped
And more like the patient unclothing of my soul

I am trying to write a love poem
But it comes out more like being known
And having a friend who doesn’t leave

I am trying to write a love poem
But it comes out less like me and you
And more like a self conscious attempt to show the world the way you make me feel like myself

I am trying to write a love poem
But it refuses to come out like a spectacle
And instead curls up like a kitten in front of the hearth of my heart and nestles there until another night when I will try again to lure it out

Maybe I’d rather it stay anyway