this morning, I fell in love with my barista.
they had freckles and the corner of their eyes crinkled when they smiled and when I told them my name was Chase, they said, "like the bank?"
I thought, "yes, maybe you'd like to open a shared account with me there?"
last week, I fell in love with the girl in line in front of me at the dining hall.
she handed me a plate and I thought I might return the favor by handing her a wedding ring.
yesterday, I fell in love with a boy in my 2 p.m. lecture.
he sat next to me and let me borrow a pen, and I thought he seemed nice, and that it would be just as nice to grow old with him.
today, I will fall in love with the driver who stops to let me jaywalk in peace and safety.
tomorrow, I will blow kisses to the birds that chirp in weather that turns my face to ice.
next week, I will drop to one knee in the middle of the new Evanston Target and tell you that you are a wonder, and no one else has your crooked smile or your body-shaking laugh or the creases by the corners of your mouth,
and I will ask to spend the rest of my life learning the curve of your nose.
you will laugh and tell me to get up
you will tell me I am being dramatic
tell me I am making a scene
call me a Hallmark card
I will tell you I am done policing my use of the word "love”
I am tired of keeping that word so close to my chest, bound tight to my heart, constricting every beat
I refuse to hold it any longer
and maybe you are right
maybe I am being dramatic
and I know I am making a scene
but I also know that I am in love with something
and you are a part of it