I love thee to the level of everyday's Most quiet need,
by sun and candle-light.
From a distance they are just two people,
a couple standing next to a car,
his back against the driver's side, she is pressed up against him
How small,
how slight, the movement of her fingertips,
tracing the edges of his coat, brushing the hair out his eyes
Maybe this is a goodbye,
One of them might be leaving town
but the affection makes it clear this is temporary, not an end
not a desperate embrace,
it is a tender series of touches
she is letting him know what she will miss
he is allowing her time to show it
from the Sonnet #43, from the Portuguese