A dozen yellow and orange and pink roses
My To-Do List with every task marked complete
Every second that my favorite band is playing live and I’m present
An oversized terrycloth robe after a hot soapy shower
Pouring a beer, no breaks, with the perfect amount of head foam
The sound of my voice singing in a properly acoustic room
Dressing Like Velma Dinkley or Darth Vader on Halloween
A positive comment from someone in the world that reads my blog
Admiring Michelangelo’s David at The Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze
The smells of sauteed onions and garlic
A blunt rolled especially for me that I don’t have to share
Walking into Caesar’s Palace on the Las Vegas Strip
An author’s copy of a book I wrote right before I crack the spine
The look on the face of a loved one when I like the gift they’ve given
A person whispering in French in my ear
The manicurist massaging my hands with oil after a fill
Listening to my son laugh over the phone
Photos of the earth from satellite cameras in space
Driving when it’s warm through Utah
The moment a new tattoo is finished
Getting acknowledged at a meeting of 10,000 by the CEO of the company I work for
Pulling a dress off the rack trying it on and it fits
The first drag from a cigarette in the morning if it rained outside
All of the poetry of Nikki Giovanni and Dorothy Parker
A selfie that looks exactly like the me that I want you to see
are all of the things that I know beyond a doubt’s shadow that I love.
Real love is steady and predictable and comforting.

Like all of those things.

But you… I am still… after all of this time…so confused…
there’s something fishy about me and you…

So if I really loved you, what would I do?
What effect would you, could you, have on me?