You May Never Truly Know

Must it be enunciated
Through loud speech,
Flowing wine, or a ringed finger
The love I bear for you in my heart-
        Like a tourniquet that tries to contain
        The overflowing grains
        Of sandy memories,
        Or a cloak that covers
        The back that has leaned on you
        On a hundred sunny days
        And a million cloudless nights-
Must I immortalize this love
With something as little as a word,
A sentence, an ode?
I shall fail if I try,
        For you have given me
        Mountains of contentment
        Seas of rippling elation,
        Islands of solitude where we live as one-
        Breathing together and dying together-
        But also a silent fear of the greatest loss
        I would ever know
        If you rode off into the sunset
        Without me on your horse,
        Without me in your heart.
So I will immortalize this love
With loud speech,
Flowing wine, a ringed finger,
And a vow that announces
        My unflinching devotion to the man
        Who reigns over my kingdom,
        Lights the fires in my dungeons,
        Sings the songs in my valleys.