That I could rend you apart

with a touch,

liquefy you with a glance

and enjoy the entire experience,

I am secure

in this.

And sometimes,

it soothes my battered soul

like a wordless lullaby.

Just knowing

that you could utter

before you fall apart for good

the words that would

destroy me

grants the unwelcome awareness

that I have become

once again

vulnerable

and prone to

seizures of the heart

and cruelties of the tongue.

Oh, how can I

but love

and

hate

you for all of this?