Love

Regret flows from the depths of my soul

With the strength of a flood

I have held these gates shut for too long

And though tormenting, they should not be stopped.

The thought of your anguish

Even as I write to you now

Stops my heart cold

As well it should

What I see in front of me

Is a painting of our love

Its most thoughtful brushstrokes

Mottled by hurried abstraction and inattention

A person who had not seen this masterpiece created

Might think it to be refuse and pass it by unknowingly

Letting be obscured the deep beauty of its many scenes

By layers of the tarnish of mistreatment

But as the painter

I see beyond the dark smears

To recall the hours that I attended to the details

And wonder how I could let it become so discolored

The painting that took me my life to create

Has lost its divinity in my careless treatment

And even if I were to refine it

I fear you would always see it as it is today

So today I paint a new masterpiece

One inspired by the muse of respect

A work that you can love through our old age

One that you will look to each day for inspiration

This one will take some time

As I want my brushstrokes to be carefully placed

I need to move steadily to ensure that this time,

My art represents my dream

This is my opus

Don't judge me on my past works

As I have never before had so much skill and inspiration

And never before have I wanted to please you as I do today

With you and my children as my muse

I will paint for you a lifetime

A portrait of devotion and friendship

A panorama of passion and admiration

All I ask is that you gaze upon it with an open heart

And you shall unquestionably love me again

Love