Cherish

I ask several things of you.
They are not easy, nor are they easily discharged.
It is easy, and too often said:
the phrase,
I love you.
I do and I know you love me.
Love is vital and covers many things.
What I ask here, today, now
and for always to come is not
about love.
I ask you for passion.
Life, love, surviving, achieving
all require passion.
A passionate attitude
towards what we want to do,
towards who we want to become,
towards each other and thus
unto our selves.
Too often passion is lost;
discarded on the laundry room floor,
drained down the kitchen sink or
dismantled in the garage because it didn't work.
I ask you not to lose our passion
in the rooms of our life.

I ask you for trust.
Trust is the cornerstone of our existance,
the cement that anchors the foundation,
the glue that holds us together.
More, trust is the light that brightens dark corners.
It grants freedom to discuss and whether or not
we may agree or perhaps,
agree to disagree, it is trust
that inhabits that communication,
that illuminates our fears and lets them be shared,
that governs our abilitiy to grow together and seperately.

I ask you to listen with your heart.
Sometimes, the most important things said
never find words, nor are ever uttered.
Listen between the words.
Listen to the silences.
Listen to the volumes spoken with lowered lids
or heaving sigh or tense shoulder.
It is listening that allows for us to hear
the trust and the passion.

And lastly, I ask to be cherished.
Hold me in your mind, treasure me in your heart,
touch me with your soul, brighten me with your smile,
gift me with your trust, share with me your passion,
and together we shall hear the joy of each other.

These things I ask,
I freely give you in return.
Know I ask, not with any doubt of your ability,
nor through fear or want of condition.
I ask because these things are what we are together.
I ask because these things I promise you.
I ask because I know your answer.