Dress

You've been staying the night -
My leg caressing yours
Your lips on mine
And pillow talk when I can't sleep.

You shower me with endless encouragement
Telling me all the things I'm doing well
All the things you love about me
All the things you want to help me with.

And this morning,
As you,
My favorite alarm clock,
Asked me why not,
It sunk in that
This
This is what it's supposed to have been like
All along.

And as I write
Page after page
The love story of two people that never were -
I find the man to be you.
And then I realize
It always is,
Always has been.
It's always been you -
Since California beat up my heart
And we shared our scars.

That conversation in a small bathroom,
So many years ago,
You unwilling to let me hide
When everyone else would -
When everyone else did,
That's who I've wanted
Despite who I've gotten.

And you love me for me.
Now, you tell me the bathroom is too far away from you
And that inappropriate things are good units of measurement.
You make me smile.
Feel alive.
And as I go back for another kiss
The count lost on how many you've asked for,
I finally find the happiness I've been chasing.
It was always you,
Chasing me.
I just had to stop and let you catch up.