I want my days
brightened by your presence
but not darkened by your absence

I want my nights
consumed with heavy passion
but sustained by healthy ration

I need your affection
to lift my sense of self
not to place my name on a shelf

I need your protection
from the traps of infatuation
not remake a tragic situation

You want to feel
that you’re safe from harm
and won’t be kept at the length of an arm

You want to see
that this is not a phase
not merely empty praise

You need to hear
that these words are true
that they are exclusive to you

You need to know
that there is no other
that we are not in this to smother

We want the future
to hold the promise of love
and the mistakes of the past to be risen above

We want the past
to be worth the pain
and never again sing the same refrain

We need to ask
what we want this to be
if the end we wish to see

We need the answer
to how to make love stay
by keeping monotony at bay