I Love You More than "Love"

It is impossible to capture in words
the feelings I have for you
They are the strongest feelings that I
have ever had about anything
yet when I try to tell you them
or try to write them to you
the words do not even begin to touch
the depths of my feelings
And though I cannot explain the essence of
these phenomenal feelings
I can tell you what I feel like when I am with you
When I am with you it is as if
I were a bird flying freely in the clear blue sky
When I am with you it is as if
I were a flower opening up my petals of life
When I am with you it is as if
I were the waves of the ocean crashing strongly
against the shore
When I am with you it is as if
I were the rainbow after the storm
proudly showing my colors
When I am with you it is as if
everything that is beautiful surrounds us
This is just a very small part of how wonderful I feel
when I am with you
Maybe the word "love" was invented to explain
the deep, all-encompassing feelings that I have for you
but somehow it is not strong enough
But since it is the best word that there is
let me tell you a thousand times
I love you more than
"love"

Susan Polis Schutz