It Is You
It is you I desire more than a connection with you.
I want to know you more than I want to know the taste of your kisses.
It is you I think of at my awake,
not when I will be with you again.
I want to love the things you love.
I hold you in high esteem.
It is your heart's desire that my heart desires.
It is your pleasure that pleases me the most.
You're well being is my focus,
your wish is my command.
What your interested in
is dear to me.
What you value is worthy to me.
You are the end of my quest
and the beginning of my life.
My love for you is only surpassed
by my love for My Lord.
A prioritization poem that emphasizes desiring the person over the experience of connection. Scott wants to know Priya more than he wants to know the taste of her kisses. He thinks of her when he wakes, not of when they'll be together. He wants to love what she loves, holds her in high esteem, desires her heart's desire. Her pleasure pleases him most, her wellbeing is his focus, her wish is his command. What interests her is dear to him; what she values is worthy. She is both the end of his quest and the beginning of his life. His love for her is surpassed only by his love for the Lord.
This poem was important for me to write because I wanted to make clear that I love Priya the person, not just the experiences we share. It would be easy to say "I can't wait to kiss you" but this poem says "I want to know you more than I want to know the taste of your kisses." There's a hierarchy here: person before experience, her before us. When I wake up, I think of her, not of our next meeting. I want to love the things she loves, to see value in what she values, to find interest in what interests her. Her heart's desire becomes my heart's desire. Her pleasure pleases me more than my own pleasure. Her wellbeing is my focus—I'm thinking about what's good for her. She's the end of my quest (I was searching and I found her) and the beginning of my life (everything starts fresh with her). The final line establishes the ultimate hierarchy: my love for her is surpassed only by my love for God. That's the proper order, and it actually strengthens our love rather than diminishing it.