I Love You

I wish I could say these words to you

When we were little and had never met

Under the sun, sitting under the shade of the mango tree

Eating chocolate, licking it off each other’s hands

I Love You

I wish I could say these words to you

When we were teenagers but never knew each other

Without holding the fingers, I would have let you know

While playing in the ground or accompanying our mothers to the market

How it felt to be near you

I Love You

I wish I could say these words to you

When we grew up a little more

When the doors to the imagination opened

And our minds slowly succumbed to the softness in our hearts

I could have let you know

How I’d like to look at you

With love dripping from my eyes

And my cheeks coloured with scarlet red

I Love You

I wish I could say these words to you now

A hundred times and more

When our paths have diverged from the start

Without knowing each other

But still, we met at last

I Love You

I wish I could say these words to you long after

Our bodies have become wrinkled and haggard

But the heart burns with passion

That had a late beginning

And the end always deferred