I didn't think love would find me
in the way it has,
with its slow, careful steps,
with its gentle questions,
with its waiting.
I thought it would be a loud thing,
a collision of hearts
that would make everything else disappear,
but instead, it has come quietly,
like the first light of dawn,
gradually breaking through the darkness,
warming the places I've hidden.
They love me
with a tenderness I never knew I deserved,
touching me like a puzzle they're careful not to break.
And sometimes, I wonder if they see me
or if they're only seeing
the person they think I should be.
But then their eyes meet mine,
and for a moment,
there is no question,
only the soft certainty
that I am enough as I am,
a man,
slowly learning to love himself,
and the love they offer
becomes the mirror
I never knew I needed.