i love you most

i love you most
not when you do
those sweet things you do

not when you buy me flowers
or fix my mistakes,
nor when you cook me breakfast
or make me coffee while i struggle to get out of bed

not even when you build me a garden
with lettuce and daisies
chili peppers and basil
and all other sorts of wonders
that continue to grow because of you

and while i love you more than words can express
when i am lying in your arms
my head against your chest
feeling your warmth and your beating heart
that is still not when i love you most

nor is it found
in the throes of passion
when our bodies are fused as one
in between sweat, desire
and fevered whispers of our love

it is simpler than that
quieter
messier
and perhaps more morbid

i love you most
in those rare moments
when you strip down to nothing
and bare your soul

when we go past the polish
past the good deeds
even past the warm loving arms
and i am seeing every bit of you
raw
real
and yes, vulnerable too

because it is in those moments
that you give me all of you
even the parts you wish weren't you
and it is in those moments
that you are forced to trust me most
trust that i can love you
all of you

and in those moments
i am compelled to love you
even more
than all the other moments
that make me love you

my body aches
and my heart breaks
with overflowing emotion
that is both pleasure and pain
sadness and happiness

and all i want
is to be
everything for you

and maybe it is not so much a matter
of when i love you most

it is just that i do
and will
love you always