learning to love

do i care the way i should, the way i can

and is the object of my caring affected
by the giving of myself not in the way
i wish them to but in the way that
affects them best, selflessly

when i whistle and a cardinal whistles

it responds because of my whistling
i understand not what i whistle
but try to replicate its tone and riff
and surely the cardinal when it whistles
back, it's speaking or singing a song to me

when i stand beside the great cherry tree

in my back yard i respect its stature
and its wisdom and i wonder if it
recognizes me, standing there, admiring
its expanding and stretching of its arms upward
trying to touch the strolling clouds

i know when i caress my two pups and stroke

them with a tenderness of care while whispering
in their ear of how their unconditional love affects
me, i tell them how they touch my heart and
the spirit of my soul and so they look up at me,
kiss me with their tiny tongues upon my chin

at this time, my dawning years, still i try to understand

of love, in all its forms, so that when i tell you
‘i love you’, you’ll understand from whence it
comes, it's not just of my heart but from the bones
of my bones, blood of my blood, the depth
of my soul and when i speak these words to you
you’ll want to whistle then raise your arms up to try
and touch the clouds and you’ll kiss my cheek