Things I like about Karl

He is always warm when I am cold
and he lets me put my cold hands in his armpits
or my cold feet between his legs
and he lets me sap his warmth until he is cold too and I am maybe lukewarm.

I like that he will say a word
that he knows
will make me stop what I am doing
and break into song.
Literally.
I serenade him a lot with classics from the 80s.

I like that he does not whistle
anymore
around me,
because whistling grates on my eardrums.

I like that he whistles when I am not around
and that he has found a way to compromise his wants with my needs.

I like that he wants this place to be better than it is
because that's what he was fighting for:
a better place.

I like that words mean nothing to him
and he will not care
that I am writing him a love poem
because he would rather
I put my cold hands
on his belly
to tell him I love him.

He says that I am wrong.
He would rather have poetry
than cold hands,
but I know
he will let me put my cold hands on him anyway.