How Do I Love Thee?

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and idealize.

I love thee to the level of everyday’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for haze;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

I love thee like rivers that carve the land,
Like mountains reaching where clouds expand,
And stars that glow through the endless haze.
I love thee as flowers love morning dew,
As forests breathe life, both tender and true,
We are going to stick to the end like glue.

I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood faith.
I love thee as storms rage, yet skies turn sight,
And like roots that cling deep in the earth's embrace.
With winds, with waves, and with flame,
My love for thee remains the same.

By day and night, thy presence is my guide.
Through grief and faith, she spirits I adore.
As saints I’ve lost, my heart loves evermore.
Every breath I take, every tear I lose,
Every laugh, every word, every path I chose,
It’s all yours, and if there’s something after this,
I’ll love thee better in eternal bliss.

I love thee with the fire of my old pains,
And with the trust of my childhood remains.
I love thee with my messy, broken past,
With a love I thought would never last.

Depth of my soul’s reach,
Love stretches like endlessly,
Boundless, eternal, Fireflies with golden wings in the skies

And when the sands of my life start to fade,
I’ll carry this love past the grave I’ve laid.
Immortal, eternal, this bond we have grown,
In death, as in life, you’ll never be alone.