I wondered, can I love again?
Love won, love lost, like so many others.
Had it burned out my capacity to love?

I wondered, can I love again?
Not just an emotional void, like so many others.
I was surgically, hormonally altered.
No mojo left, that's for sure.
No buxom starlet, no brave sports hero,
No sensuous lover could stir these loins.
But still I wondered, can I love again?

I could date, smile, caress, embrace.
I could enjoy the fun, savour the compliments.
But I wondered, could I love again?

You said, "Don't worry. I will love you."
I said, "I can't make any promises, but I accept you."
You said, "I need you. I will help you.
"Fifty-fifty, all the way, come what might, come what may."
I said, "I will be with you. I will encourage you.
"I will praise you. I will help you be your bestest self."
But still I wondered, can I love again?

Until one day, I stopped wondering.
Because I was in love.

—Lannie Rose, for her Misha
9/2008