you once told me that
i was your mirror
and so one day
i looked in your eyes and I thought
if my reflection is this beautiful then maybe
it is is worth trying
to love myself.

we’ve been together
forever, i think
swimming in a vast ocean
and one day the waves
crashed us onto this dry, dusty
desert
and I know that
you are
my gift from the sea

thank you for helping me
to see that
sometimes
(if it’s done right)
co-dependence can feel
healthy

we don’t know everything
about one another
we don’t have to share
all the details
of convoluted pasts and presents and futures
we don’t even have to talk
with you
the silence is full of
a million secrets

your hands are so soft
and so small
and so strong
and although they carry so much
they always
have room for
my hands

on the outside
we look different
and I think that
we sometimes confuse
other people
they don’t know
that underneath it all
we are the same.

you understand my libra heart
and you know that
one can be
both insecure
and narcissistic
at the very same time
and also that
it is not unreasonable
to always expect
to get what you want.

so what if deciding where to
eat dinner
can take us
three hours
because
i never
notice
the time pass.

loving you
is the easiest
thing
I have ever done.

Happy Birthday Mani