When fresh from the shower

your black serpentine curls

fall down to your waist

like hot Icelandic springs

And your fragrance spreads

like Mongols on fire

When your chapped winter lips

quiver with sadness

and you rush to the kitchen

to hide your tears

When your shores

are gently washed

with waves upon waves

of musical laughter

When you speak Urdu

with an intonation so lovely

and infinitely Punjabi

I could listen, captivated,

for eternities on end

When you’re strong and ripping apart

When you’re vulnerable and falling apart

I fall in love with you

quietly; like you and I,

our love cannot be much different

from us.