How do you aggravate me?

Loosely based on Elizabeth Barette Browning's How Do I Love thee.





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How do you aggravate me?

Oh let me count the ways

That you irritate me to the

Depth, breadth, and height

That my being withstands



Brush your lips against mine

Pull away with a smirk

Oh so self satisfied, so sure



The ways are endless

But then so are your charms

How you amuse me effortlessly

Leave me breathless with laughter



Tender away my tears with faint kisses

Wrap me in your arms.

You still smell of sunshine and warmth



Loath as I am to lose you

Reluctant as I am to risk you

Slipping though my fingers

Because it ever has been this way

The more I hold, the less I have

And I want to keep you near

For as long as I possibly can.



The road is long

Neither of us can see the miles

The spaces that reach across the distances

The lazy blue skies and beckoning horizons

The diverging destinies at that cross road

You just might take the road well traveled

While I take the one less traveled.



Do I love you enough to let you

Soar away from me, if you choose?



My heart quakes at the thought

But I do love you to the very depths

That my soul can reach

Even though you have never been

Mine to keep.



Smirk as you kiss me

Order me around

Aggravate me

Irritate me

Maybe I'll keep

You, instead.