...And the Word Eludes Me...

This is like trying to write
with my hands tied behind my back...
there just doesn't seem
to be any way I can do it.

I know what needs to be said
and I know how it should be said.
It's just that the right word
to get it all started
just eludes me.

I could tell you
I would capture a million stars
just to light your way
from sundown to sunrise...
but you know
I can't do that.
I would gladly chase down dragons
and fight their fire with all that I am...
but you know
that just isn't true either.

So, what good is an imagination
if I can't use wistful, wishful thoughts
to get you to understand
just how much I do care...
and want...
and need...
and value...
and yearn...
and absolutely at times,
just ache,
for you?

Even a clown can catch a smile
or a bemused look
for doing silly things.
If I were to dance about
in size thirty-two shoes
and squeeze a horn
and stumble and fall down
with an amazed look in my eyes,
would that win
one of your easy smiles for me?

I don't know...
I just don't know.
The one word that I'm sure
would win you over
just won't come to my mind,
and venture its way
to whisper softly in your ear.

Every dictionary I've searched;
every memory and everything
I've ever thought to be perfect...
doesn't have any idea
of the word that would fit.

Perhaps...
there just isn't a word.
And just perhaps,
I could lose any chance
of getting you to understand
all the wondrous, soft, gentle thoughts
I have lying just beneath the surface
that you can't see... or feel.

The word eludes me...
so my thoughts can't be free
to find a voice you can understand.
The word just eludes me.

So look close into my eyes.
Maybe there,
you will see
the unspoken words
I have for you...
and you can begin
to measure the depth
of my love
for you.

Perhaps then,
there won't be any need
for elusive words.