If

I have held your hand

and told you that I love you,

then I have meant every damn letter

in that short sentence,

but don’t be misled

I have loved almost everybody

I have come into contact with;

for in their eyes I see possible and hopeless redemption,

I see a yearning to be understood

and I have tried my best to value that.

 

I have adored you like a eunuch lover,

I have told you in no uncertain terms

that I love you but I have not slept

with you, a percentage of a percentage

for in sex, it complicates

the meaning of my honesty

and I would rather hold your hand once

to tell you I love you

for in that moment, for the briefest

of seconds I am still here,

I still exist

and I have not succumb

to finally letting go;

in loving you I remain

alive.

 

Ian D. Hall 2016