Happy Birthday, Beloved.

If it were for me to decide,
I would spare you all pain.
I would give my whole self to you
And you would never have to ask.
If it were for me to choose,
I would never hurt you,
Never leave you,
Never let you cry except with joy,
Never change even one thing about you.
I’d wake you up every morning
And be the last thing you see before you sleep each night.
My words would be your comfort,
My voice would be your music,
And every time you look into my eyes,
You would see again and again
that I wanted nothing more nor less
than to always love you
and be loved by you.

If I were free, I would choose you.
If it were mine, I’d give you the world.

I don’t have any of that to offer.
What I do have, though, I give freely.
I give you my love.
I give you my patience and my forgiveness.
I give you my rare blushes.
I give you my apologies.
I give you my smiles and my laughter.
I give you tears, sometimes,
though you won’t ever have to see them.
I give you desire
As well as control, restraint.
I give you passion without fear.
I give you intensity, ferocity,
living-in-the-moment-for-the-sake-of-the-moment.
I give you my hope and my courage.
I give you my wisdom and pray that you never need it.
I give you my dreams,
My secrets,
My trust,
My truth.
If you ever need it, I’ll give you my life.
I know that that’s more than you’d ever ask.
I know it isn’t enough.
It can never be enough.
Even so, it’s all I have to give, and this,
All that I have,
All that is mine to give,
Such as it is,
Is my gift to you.