Most of us love someone deeply, though in odd ways – here’s my list of how I do.

I love you like a broken wheel
Turning on a wagon only half way home
I love you like a sinking ship
I love you like a falling stone
I love you like a dream you had
That slips away when the morning comes
I love you like a big black cloud
Passing over the mid-day sun
I love you like a beggar’s prayer
I love you like a deep dark pool
I love you like the back porch stairs
I love you like a goddamn fool
I love you like a goddamn fool

I love you like the dark new moon
A hole in the night that’s quiet and still
I love you like an empty bowl
That hours and minutes will never fill
I love you like a pilgrim’s road
I love you like a writer’s pen
I love you like an open bridge
Like a child that’s finally home again
I love you like an old stonewall

Like frost heaves pushing up the frozen ground
I love you like the barren trees
I love you like the long way ‘round

All these endless schemes
Of who I said I’d be
But you’re still standing here

I love you like the long slow burn
I love you like the ember’s glow
I love you like a dog’s last bone
Like a crack in the pavement where the weeds can grow
I love you like a fool’s last stand
I love you like a late night deal
I love you like a midnight song
Like a wound that just won’t heal
I love you like a minor chord
Played on the backbeat on an old guitar
I love for the way you talk
I love you for the way you are
I love you for the way you are

© Bill Harley, all rights reserved. Reprints with permission only.