My fondness for this poem begins with

The iconic first line that I reread

Again and again like the weapon that

Is Browning's namesake and pen describing

A love with searing intensity.

The first line imitates a catharsis

but without the suppression.

It's unbridled and raw and bold despite

Her "quiet need" and knowing silences.

It's detailed, specific, meticulous

Since every single day is not the same

Everyday, for she differentiates

Each dose of love even though she will say

I love thee, I Love thee, I love Thee

More times than I can count. Declaring it

So confidently to someone else seems

Like a romantic love in its purest form.

It transcends the dimensions that we know

Beyond depth, breadth, height, and the tangible

She loves with every breath until her last,

Smiles and tears, life and death, dimensions so vast,

So completely opposite, but no space

Contains the love she has now as to her "lost saints"

Her lover is her light; it is quiet and shines

Through everything and makes her feel alive,

To love again, with feeling. More intense.

I don't have a romantic interest

To whom I would repeat "I love thee"

So I'll explain with terms I understand

And attempt to replicate the rhythm

That made Elizabeth's heart beat.

Was her faith as steadfast as a heartbeat?

Two lover's cohesion that created harmony?

Loving not for ulterior motive,

Ignoring lost innocence, lost faith, and old griefs?

I don't have a romantic interest

To whom I would repeat "I love thee"

I can't imitate, relate, or articulate

What she's trying to say. But I think I'll

Know it when I feel it. And when I do,

I will consider counting the ways I love you.

Original Poem: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43742/sonnets-from-the-portuguese-43-how-do-i-love-thee-let-me-count-the-ways