Definitions of Love

I
Alone: adv.
1. With no other.

Our lives are not intertwined,
I can go for seconds without thinking of you.
I spend hours alone,
with the scent of your skin on mine.
And I don’t miss any part of you
when you’re gone,
except for the part of me
you take with you.

II
Foreign: adj.
1. Not characteristic.

Moments that to others seem mundane,
breakfast
TV
holding hands against a sudden gust of wind.
To us these moments are orchids,
strong when well tended,
mysterious and foreign,
perched on suburban windowsills.

III
Storm: n.
1. Any strong disturbance.

You leave quietly in the middle of the night.
I think I can still hear you breathe
but it’s the rain against the slanted roof.
You call and say I’m coming back,
And you do,
you come back.

IV
Question: n.
1. A difficult matter; a problem: a question of ethics.
2. Doubt

You ask me questions and I make up the answers,
you know that I do but you ask anyway.
I catch your eye in the rearview mirror
and it’s my turn to ask the questions:
When did you become
a stranger to yourself?

V
Daughter: n.
1. One’s female child: the daughter looked just like her mother.

You teach her new things every day,
you are her hero, she, your muse.
She looks like an angel in flames.
I wouldn’t be able to leave her
either.

VI
One: adj.
1. Being a single entity.
2. United. Being in unity.

Last night I dreamt that we walked
down by the river
where it opens up into a plump crescent
before it bends and disappears.
You said look at the stars.
But I wonder where you are
tonight.

VII
Broken: n.
1. Fractured.
2. Violated, as a vow.

We had been apart for so long
I can barely remember the color of your eyes
except for that moment
when they turned black
and you said it’s you.
Storms have brewed and broken
and subsided
while you were gone.

VIII
Need: n.
1. Lack of something required.
Necessity; obligation: There is no need for you to go.

You ask when I will leave you again
and I say maybe today.
You smile but I see the gray clouds
return to your blue eyes.

IX
Love: n.
1. Strong affections
2. In tennis, a score of zero.