What They Never Told Me About Love

They never told me

love could arrive like a hush

not loud

not crashing

just known

like something I had forgotten

until your eyes reminded me

They never told me

home could have a heartbeat

and it might not be a place

but a person

who says nothing at all

while my soul rearranges itself

to listen

You waited for me

on the edge of my chaos

while I tripped over nerves

rushed to be pretty

apologized with my voice

and my thermostat

I didn’t know what to do with the quiet

so I filled it with noise

And still

you stayed

You said

sometimes you just need a hug

and you held me

like that was all the truth we needed

no seduction

no pressure

just presence

And when I melted into you

you didn’t take

you received

We swayed

a slow dance

some song whispering love behind us

like the universe cued the soundtrack

to a moment we both remembered

from a lifetime we never lived

Then you stopped

abrupt

like you caught yourself

feeling too much

like your heart tried to step forward

and your mind held it back

And I stood there

holding what you wouldn’t say

carrying the silence

I don’t know how to unfeel

what felt so ancient

so holy

so meant

They never told me

that love could show up

as a person

whose absence hurts

more than the wrong ones who stayed

Or that recognizing your other

might not mean

you get to keep them

But I knew you at fourteen

and still

I know you now

and because of that

I can’t go back to sleep

I laid my head on your chest

and for a moment

the world made sense

your heartbeat

wasn’t just a rhythm

it was a truth

a map

a memory

I stayed quiet

afraid to speak

afraid the words might end the moment

before the moment ended me

I wanted to cry

not from sadness

but from knowing

that something this soft

this sacred

was never mine to keep

so I listened

and let the silence

say everything

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