measure of love

you ask me if I love you

you measure each embrace

weigh my words against your past

distrust my smiling face

examine close each offering

for motive and intent

parse apart my lines of love

and ask me what I meant

you price each loving present

you bite to test my coin

you question all my kisses

hold back when we conjoin

I wonder if you see me

or hear the sounds I speak

love is dying on the vine

ill nourished by critique

why can’t you simply swallow

the sweets I feed to you

distrust is hard and hollow

love’s easier to chew