I was just leaving,
lips brushing your shoulder, fingertips on the door
when those words slipped and tumbled out:

ILoveYou.

And suddenly the whole room smells like spring daffodils,
but bitter horse hair and mountain wind as well.

I Love You

There's the chill from the spray of a waterfall.
And I swear, I can feel dogwood bark,
rough under my hands and a face full of sunshine.

I.....love.....you

I savor the words that taste like noon honeysuckle in my mouth,
Like tart wild blackberries rolling off my tongue.

i love you

I whisper, soft as a whipporwhill's song,
but its a thundering crescendo in my ears.

I love you

And it feels like my first happy holiday spent alone: self-reliant and proud.
Triumphant, to give it a name.

I. Love. You.

More than a breathless Tennessee sunset,
And as much as I love my mother's laugh.

I Love You

And it scares me, heart in my throat, as if a woodland creature just darted across the road.

I Love You

And everything I love fills my words.
even all the struggle and taste of tears,
For I Love You,
even though you're snoring, and didn't hear.