Valentine villanelle in late July

Quarter of a million words
In any dictionary here
Three that you sometimes heard
In your city of birds
Larks and doves of song, fear
Quarter of a million words
The first, the second, the third—
Words we held like cards, my dear
Three that I sometimes heard
I recall it all: red dog, furred,
Flannel warmth, listening ear
Quarter of a million words
Were those three too soft, too slurred?
Too infrequent? Sweet, but sheer?
Three that we sometimes heard
I would give my heart: one word
To heal, to mend. One: strong, clear.
Quarter of a million words
Three that we sometimes heard