hello, february

hello, february. oh, how I missed you—please,

come in. can I get you anything?

I was expecting you, of course;

I have your favorite chocolates

and a few bottles of that moscato you enjoy,

the sweet one in the deep blue bottle.

settle in, then tell me everything:

your dreams, your hopes,

all the beautiful things you have seen

and felt, everyone you have loved

over the last twelve months, over a lifetime.

tell me the horrible, too—the sadness

and tragedy and injustice, what has broken your heart

and brought you to tears, tell me your fears.

I will listen to all of it, will hold your grief gently

and with as much tenderness as your joy.

you taught me that, you know.

how to love someone truly is to love all of them,

even the ugly parts of their life,

their sadness and anger, their fear.

how to love someone deeply is to embrace them

fully, to celebrate their happiness at their side

and help hold their suffering when they

cannot bear it alone.

I am a better lover, because of you—

better at loving romantically

and platonically, and even at loving myself.

you make people want to believe in love,

and I believe we are nothing

without love in all its forms.