from an e-mail I wrote to a loved one today:

The English language has a stilted love vocabulary. My forced use of the word 'love' in the previous sentence is an example of this. There are different kinds of love, and loneliness, and desire. 'Desire' is probably the only concept with an almost-adequate set of similes. The Greek concepts of love as Eros, Philos, and Agape seem to be on the right track, but still not specific enough. It's enough to make one start describing emotions using color and flavor terms. It would work, as long as reactions to the described conditions were universally understood. I'm simply mango about you, I'd say. And you would know that I meant exotic, sweet-slippery satiety, wearing aromatic leather and enveloping a monstrous, cattongue-textured heart. Sticky, staining and slightly acidic. Easily preserved.