i promise -
to be kind to you
with all the words i speak;
to turn away
from bitterness,
from blame,
instead,
to seek to hold you up
in high regard
in all my thoughts;
to try to treat you as you are,
not were or could or ought;
to trace with care
our fault lines that
we both are scared to tread;
to put your good
before my own
and love you best instead.
