A few weeks ago, someone asked me, if I’ve ever fallen in love,

I told them,

I fall in love every day as the skies reveal the colours of the universe to me

and I settle into that love every night as the moon glows through my window making art of shadows on my walls

I wake up to that love every morning as the birds sing to me

and touch the softness of that love on the petals of summer blooms

I grieve in the loss of that love every winter

on cold and clouded days

as the sweet taste a berry fresh off the bush fades in my memory

and I reawaken to that love every spring as new buds form on trees

I breathe into that love as branches brush against my skin

I step into that love on networks of roots and mycelium.

They asked, have I ever fallen in love?

I told them, I fall in love every time I see my friends face light up at the sight of mine

appreciating every limited day we share together.

I fall in love over and over again with strangers who’s gaze and smile meets mine

especially those who’s lifetime only crosses mine for a mere matter of minutes

but in that one moment, we see each other, we witness each other,

and I get to stand in the brilliance of their beauty,

in the depths of their being.

I fall in love when someone lets me in,

when I let someone in,

and there’s the love of laying in the warmth of a lover

wanting life to hold you that way always.

I fall in love with the way people mess up and embarrass themselves

and do and say things they wish they never did and said

and then keep showing up for life,

somehow,

and keep giving themselves to the world

and opening themselves to others

who have also messed up

over and over and over again

like we have.

I feel love pierce my being at the sound of my mothers words

a voice that could only be hers

and words only she could have chosen

that could only hit me so hard

coming from her.

They asked, have I ever fallen in love?

I said, I fall in love every time a piece of music moves through my being

vibrating the cells in my body

restructuring the molecules of my being,

or maybe, just naming them

I feel love pulse through me as I paint and write

as creativity and expression make my hand move in some incomprehensible way

when I let go of control

and surrender to the constraints that inspire me.

I fall in love every time I look in the mirror

and see the person I’ve spent my life with,

the person who’s always been there for me,

the one who has somehow gotten me through every dark night, and every unbearable day,

the one who knows every quirk and weird thing about me

and is still there

the one who knows every strength every weakness

and is still there,

the one who I get to share this world with

this love with

the one who allows me to feel and know

love

every day.