Do you love me?

When you pour into my cup

and sing me a song

When you cook the eggs

just runny for me

When you hold my hand

and tell me

“I love you”

Are you saying

Truly

With your heart filled to the brim

That what you feel

Is that elusive thing we call

Love?

How can I know

For sure

That behind your pale eyes

The love you feel is the same as

Mine?

Does it feel as secure and deep

Formless and unwavering

Absent of “me”

But full of “you”?

Does it bring to mind the same memories?

The recognition

of each other’s essence,

The difficult nights

The shared pain

Or the embraces we fall into?

Will there ever be a bridge to carry me to your world

Across the void that words and gestures

Leap at but never cross?

Can I ever know the secret to certainty

That the enduring happiness I feel

Is not mine but our’s?

Love

it seems

like all beliefs

takes a wisp of faith

to anchor each of us

to our humanity

and ties the islands

of our lives

together

as one