Along with “pass me the salt”

And “we have to take the car to the garage”

Let me just say,

You’ve made me happy all these years

Before lightning ends your life or mine

Let me whisper in your ear

That I crave your embrace

That you’re the mast I gladly cling to

I, an untameable animal, lover of my freedom and the confinement of your arms

Let me tell you, lest the moment slip away,

Between “we haven’t finished the tax return” and “the printer’s run out of ink”

That I love you beyond all limits

With the certainty that you are the best thing that I have in life

Before we are eroded by Alzheimer’s, devoured by death

Or we stray into the jungle of routine

Let me just say that I love my life with you

Translated by Ximena from the original Spanish. Thank you, Elizabeth Nash and Kathy Bijleveld for the edits.