“Sanctuary from the Storm”

Love will choose you again.
It searched for you in all the wrong places,
where lovers lost hope, passion, and direction,
but in me it found a resting place for you.

I have seen your heart tremble.
The wind stole passion,
buried attraction in the sand of forgetting.
You walked away.
Love weakened.

Falling in love does not have to be frightening.
You do not have to hide what your heart desires,
run from what is gentle,
a sanctuary for your love.

I am not thunder,
but a rainy season to calm your storm.
I am right here,
ready to catch you
whenever your heart needs lifting.

I am that sanctuary
when the noise is too loud,
the wind too violent
for your peace.

But before you go too far,
tell me, darling,
what about the promises you made?
Were they only words,
or did they carry the weight of us?

Will you silence your heart,
bury what we were,
pretend our memories did not bind us,
did not shelter us
from the storm of what they said about us?

They bind me still
to your morning smile,
to the quiet way you looked at me,
to your inner thoughts.

Loving you at a distance
was never my desire,
yet I whisper
so that I may love you still,
finding a pathway home.

I can love you like that.
Not loudly.
Not desperately.
But faithfully.

You do not have to leave again
searching for love in all the wrong places
when it already knows your name in me.

These hands will hold you.
This heart will protect you.

And if you grow tired of running,
if love frightens you again,
remember

Love will choose you.
And I will be here.