how often should you say “I love you”?
once the words finally fall,
like first heavy drops in the humid air of a brewing summer rain
the release can be powerful, and the words may come down fast
and often, and strong.

But, eventually, a person becomes properly drenched,
and even a flower can be watered too often.
The words may lose their power,
a prayer gone rote with overuse.

But there are lonely hearts to whom expression of love are a faded echo
a shaky memory that falls under scrutiny in the absence of recent reinforcement.
A silent ceasefire between two lines unwilling to be vulnerable. Again.

In love’s first utterance, the emotions trigger words
but the reverse can be true too.
So say it as often as you feel it
or want to.