Whoever you are, whatever you do,
wherever you live, whenever you’re ready,
however scared you may be,
I am waiting for you, my new love.
I try to recognize you in the faces of the unfamiliar,
or in the eyes of friendly others.
Perhaps I’ve already met you at the bookstore,
or the Farmer’s Market on the Square,
our hands reaching for the same red pepper.
Were you the woman two rows in front of me
in the movie theater? I watched you, then the film.
Maybe we’re friends; belong to the same group,
pass each other on the road during our daily commute.
You may not yet have arrived in town;
the new kid at work;
The neighbor moving into my building,
whose ripped cardboard box
I rescue before hitting the ground,
our eyes meeting for a second
in recognition of something important,
strangely familiar.
We ready ourselves for each other each
day in our meditations and reverie,
conversations with friends,
when they ask, what will your next girlfriend be like?
I ponder you. I wonder.
My curiosity distracts me in my work,
sometimes becoming the purpose of my play,
inspiration for poetry.
I write about you in my journal,
I conjure you up in my dreams.
Know this sweet woman. I have loved, I love, I will love again.
I will love you as well as I have learned to love myself,
sometimes with abundance and generosity of spirit,
often imperfectly. I can’t promise I won’t hurt you, I will.
It is the nature of life and love,
yet I will give you my best and hope you can accept the rest.
My passion and desire will wax and wane,
yet my love will always be true and yours.
You will have my hand, my heart, my attention.
We will laugh at our similarities,
and practice patience with our differences.
We will hold each other during the dark nights
and giggle under the covers
as the sun peaks in the window in the morning.
Unknown Valentine, come out, come out,
whoever you are, whatever you do,
wherever you live, whenever you’re ready,
however scared you may be,
I am waiting for you, my new love.
LLL