What You May Not Know About Superlatives

What you may not know about superlatives is that they can be used to compare two things as well. You may have only loved twice, but this girl, standing right in front of you, with the smooth soft skin, she is the best love of your life. This is a correct usage. Though only two people may have come with you to this crepe restaurant, the one with the blond hair had the nicest body. She had the shapeliest thighs, the perkiest breasts.

What you may not know about superlatives is that timing is very important. You have the most symmetrical face I've ever seen. Let's have the most expensive dinner you've ever had, at the top of the highest peak overlooking the prettiest city in Asia. And later bedboards creak. This handmade candle is the most thoughtful present I've ever received. Then up against a brick wall in some alley way. This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do. This is the saddest moment of my life. From this instant on, every nanosecond will be ever so slightly better than the one before it.

What you may not know about superlatives is the way it easily governs your life. But you said I was the most important person you know. You are the biggest liar I've met. The sweetest words you've ever said were never true. You are the deepest scar of all the hundreds of scars that I carry on me. These things are said and all of a sudden your world of hyperbole and exaggeration focuses and you see how it's just that you feel the most out of your peers. That though what burnt you may not have been the hottest flame, you suffered the worst pain.

What you may not know about superlatives is that you'll always think in their terms. She is the biggest mistake I've ever made. I will always want you the most. And you'd forgive him. Or maybe he'd say, she was the worst kisser I've ever cheated on you with. Maybe if you were the skinniest, prettiest, kindest, smartest, or sweetest person he'd ever known, none of this would have happened. Maybe if you were better...but you can't think in comparatives. After all, comparatives only measure two, and there are will always be more than two options for him.

What they don't tell you about superlatives is their power to heal. You are the most awesome person I know. You share the most values with me. And even if you heard these before, even if you've heard them numerous times (while listening to him strum "Question" by the Old '97s, or on top of Teton Village, or down the hallway on the 4th floor where your locker was sophomore year) you can still feel your heart begin to beat in a normal rhythm. The extremes are being balanced out. You are the most perfect person in the world for me right now. This is the most comfortable place for me today. I fit best next to you tonight.

But what you may not know about superlatives is that they always have a shelf life.