My Surprise

You amaze me, did you know?

You tell me things no man has ever said—

save one, my dad.

He’s seen the worst of me and still he says,

“I’d marry you.”

And yet, that is one threshold

we have never crossed.

And I am grateful

because this means that I am free

to cross that line with you,

Querido.

You sneak up on me, love—

in the shower as the water trickles

past

and pools in puddles at my feet;

while awake at night, imagining;

as I drive along the freeways

of the city,

silence blaring from the radio.

It’s like a beating on the inside,

my organs all at once arrested

by the sweetness of your words

remembered.

Asombroso.

You’re like a treat too-oft enjoyed

which leaves a cavity,

empty

but for love’s enduring pain;

or like the tickling of my feet that’s felt

like Phantom’s fingers

somewhere along the hipline.

I can’t escape you.

Dulce.

You could be the next

uncovered Wonder of the World

the way you take my breath

away—

brilliant as the Lighthouse built

on Pharos,

majestic as the celebrated

victory of Rhodes,

influential as the Pyramids’ remembered

dynasty.

Poderoso.

Your faith astounds me.

In its infancy compared to mine and yet—

matured beyond what I have yet to do.

Many people on the other side had called me “missionary”

just because I wasn’t with them.

But you—

No one pats your back for bravery

and yet you go

selflessly to give that some might see,

like Peter, Paul, or John, the Savior’s

right-hand men.

Fiel.