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'why?' she asked me.

the question caused me a start
from out of the blue
an inquiry without qualification
leaving far too much for me
to assume.

i looked at her
stomach sinking while gray matter
attempted sifting through
a complex mathematical equation.

question + response(reaction)
divided by stuttering
points deducted for hesitating
graded on the curve of
whatever thoughts she was hiding.

the one word which could
befuddle even the most
educated scholar.

'why?' she asked again.

inadequate answers spilling forth
into my head.
incomplete without further data,
still it was all she would give
and i needed to say something.

'well,' i said
tossing a quarter into the word
to make a wish,
'because it's been too long,
since we've spoken, dear.
i figured
why not now?'

the corner of her mouth
curled upward in a grin.
not the correct answer.
thank you, try again.

'why?' she asked again.

i scratched the back of my neck
stealing time for silent prayers.
'i missed you.
i've missed you all.
i've been quite lonely
without you.'

'why?'
the question quickly
followed the response.
perhaps the right track?

i frowned.
'our time together
was too short.'

she nodded. 'why?'
she asked
again.

'because i made so many
foolish mistakes.'

'why?'
she asked
again.

'because i am a
foolish man.
because wiser men
would realize
what they had
was worth fighting for.
they would not have
walked away
when they still
loved you
so much.'

her eyes cast upon me.
the facial features giving no hint.
cold and stoic, yet not angry.
saddened, just the same.

'why?' she asked.
i could almost sense the mixture
of hope and fright inside her voice.
those emerald jewels still staring
with an unrelenting grip.

i took her hand in mine.
i drew her close to me.
i ran my fingers through her hair.
and kissed the side of her face.

'because,' i said, speaking softly.
'it all comes down to math.
me plus you.
cancel the loneliness.
carry the bittersweet memories.
factor in the past.
man minus woman
equals lost.
woman subtracted from man
results in a half
not a whole.
the equation
is only complete
when it is
me plus you.'

'why do you love me?'
she finally offered.
providing the
unknown variable
at last.

'because,' i said,
'no one else
has been able
to fill that
missing half.'

'i love you,' i said,
'because
you have seen
the bad
you have seen
pain
injury
sadness
at my hand
and yet
you still see something
worth caring about.
i am a better man
with you.
i am a bitter man
without you.
and had i any sense
i would have
recognized that
a long time ago.'

the silence of a scholar
following the solution.
admiring the blackboard
the chalk scrawlings
on the wall.
she followed the proofs
and mused upon theorems
until she sighed
and said, 'that was the answer
i was looking for.'

i could not respond
for i was far too lost
in a pleasant sense of victory.
the kind that comes
from unraveling the mysteries
of the cosmos
and discovering
the most complicated problems
have the simplest of answers.

'but not now,' she said.
'soon,' she said
leaving it at that.
that sense of victory
somewhat tempered now.
until she saw fit to add
her own factor
into the equation.

'i love you, too.'

mouth turned upward in a grin,
i could only issue
the one response
i knew would fit.
i closed my eyes
i held her close
and my lips produced
the one question
that would always
remain a riddle
within my mind.

'why?'

Description
'why?' she asked me.

the question caused me a start
from out of the blue
an inquiry without qualification
leaving far too much for me
to assume.

i looked at her
stomach sinking while gray matter
attempted sifting through
a complex mathematical equation.

question + response(reaction)
divided by stuttering
points deducted for hesitating
graded on the curve of
whatever thoughts she was hiding.

the one word which could
befuddle even the most
educated scholar.

'why?' she asked again.

inadequate answers spilling forth
into my head.
incomplete without further data,
still it was all she would give
and i needed to say something.

'well,' i said
tossing a quarter into the word
to make a wish,
'because it's been too long,
since we've spoken, dear.
i figured
why not now?'

the corner of her mouth
curled upward in a grin.
not the correct answer.
thank you, try again.

'why?' she asked again.

i scratched the back of my neck
stealing time for silent prayers.
'i missed you.
i've missed you all.
i've been quite lonely
without you.'

'why?'
the question quickly
followed the response.
perhaps the right track?

i frowned.
'our time together
was too short.'

she nodded. 'why?'
she asked
again.

'because i made so many
foolish mistakes.'

'why?'
she asked
again.

'because i am a
foolish man.
because wiser men
would realize
what they had
was worth fighting for.
they would not have
walked away
when they still
loved you
so much.'

her eyes cast upon me.
the facial features giving no hint.
cold and stoic, yet not angry.
saddened, just the same.

'why?' she asked.
i could almost sense the mixture
of hope and fright inside her voice.
those emerald jewels still staring
with an unrelenting grip.

i took her hand in mine.
i drew her close to me.
i ran my fingers through her hair.
and kissed the side of her face.

'because,' i said, speaking softly.
'it all comes down to math.
me plus you.
cancel the loneliness.
carry the bittersweet memories.
factor in the past.
man minus woman
equals lost.
woman subtracted from man
results in a half
not a whole.
the equation
is only complete
when it is
me plus you.'

'why do you love me?'
she finally offered.
providing the
unknown variable
at last.

'because,' i said,
'no one else
has been able
to fill that
missing half.'

'i love you,' i said,
'because
you have seen
the bad
you have seen
pain
injury
sadness
at my hand
and yet
you still see something
worth caring about.
i am a better man
with you.
i am a bitter man
without you.
and had i any sense
i would have
recognized that
a long time ago.'

the silence of a scholar
following the solution.
admiring the blackboard
the chalk scrawlings
on the wall.
she followed the proofs
and mused upon theorems
until she sighed
and said, 'that was the answer
i was looking for.'

i could not respond
for i was far too lost
in a pleasant sense of victory.
the kind that comes
from unraveling the mysteries
of the cosmos
and discovering
the most complicated problems
have the simplest of answers.

'but not now,' she said.
'soon,' she said
leaving it at that.
that sense of victory
somewhat tempered now.
until she saw fit to add
her own factor
into the equation.

'i love you, too.'

mouth turned upward in a grin,
i could only issue
the one response
i knew would fit.
i closed my eyes
i held her close
and my lips produced
the one question
that would always
remain a riddle
within my mind.

'why?'