When he can’t make it for lunch

He texts me and tells me
he’s sorry he can’t make it for lunch
and right away
sends me another text
“But I love you,” it says.

When he tells me he is going to call back
but he gets busy
or has to meet with his boss
or plain forgets
he e-mails me and tells me
he’s sorry he didn’t call back
and right away
sends me another e-mail
“But I love you,“ it says.

When we make love
he puts his phone on the nightstand
“just in case” he says
and “not to worry,” he says,
he wouldn’t answer it,
and he kisses me.
“But I love you.” he says.

He tells me he loves me all the time.

When he can’t go on that trip with me after all,
When he can’t move to Washington with me after all,
When he can’t pick me up after work after all,

And when I get upset
he gives me excuses
and I tell him excuses are like leaves on the tree
“But I love you,” he says.

He tells me he loves me
the way a gladiator holds up a shield
the way the Chinese build a wall
the way a mote protects a castle.

He tells me he loves me all the time
And I finally tell him that
every time he does

It hurts.

 

Relephant read:

But, He Doesn’t Ever Tell Me He Loves Me. {Poem}

Author: Carmelene Siani

Editor: Ashleigh Hitchcock

Photo: flickr