“It is really simple,
you either like me or you don’t”

Is it? Is it that simple? Can feelings ever be that simple?
How ignorant are those you have managed to simplify feelings into
a mere black and white?
How immature. How blind. How childisih.
If only love could be quantified,
If affection was measured by the number of hugs,
Or the amount of sugar I put in your tea
If admiration was analysed through the love notes you left me,
Or what I say about you when you leave the room
If intimacy was calculated by the minutes of a kiss,
Or the wetness of our bedsheets
You would know.

If love could be quantified
Wouldn’t we all speak the same love language?
Wouldn’t we all seek the same things?

What I feel for you is not just black or white
I have a spectrum,
Various colours with numerous undertones
Each signifying a feeling I feel only with you
Each qualifying as a feeling one would call love
What I feel for you is blue,
Calm and serene like your eyes after I kiss your forehead
What I feel for you is pink,
Like your chapped lips on a winter morning
What I feel for you is green,
Like the remains of your fingerprints on my thigh
What I feel for you is maroon,
Like the love bite on your neck
What I feel for you is yellow
Similar to the daal you make when I am homesick
What I feel for you is violet
Like the petunia tree outside your childhood home you said you would like to show me some day
What I feel for you is brown
Just like that birthmark on your chest
It is also black
Dark and scary, like the tales of my past I get triggered talking about
My feelings are white
Pure and innocent, untouched by the worldliness of relationships and their limitations and definitions
If only love could be quantified.

So tell me,
How will you simplify this spectrum of colours into a simple
yes or no?
Who decides if my feelings qualify as love
If they can be quantified enough to build a quintessential relationship upon
Who decides love is enough to be together
Who decides what more we need
If only love could be quantified.