Not knowing much about love, never having
held much too dear or too long, I can say only this:
It is better to be with you than not,
and better to kiss you than not to kiss.
At least with you in the room I’ve got
some reason for sticking around, for shaving,
or tying my shoes, or cooking an egg.
Without you, these things would be usual and meaningless.
In our bed, you rest your cup on my leg,
and this, for the two of us, is tenderness.