I was never taught how to be loved
as a man,
how to let someone touch me
without fear,
how to let myself be seen
without a thousand questions in my head,
without wondering if they could ever truly love
the things I've fought to become.
Love has always felt like a rebellion,
against everything I've been told about myself,
against the world that tries to define me
by the parts of me that are still
unwritten.
Every kiss, every touch
feels like a small act of defiance,
a refusal to let my history
limit what I am worthy of now.
I've learned that love is messy,
not always the thing we dream about,
but the thing we build,
brick by brick,
in the spaces where we're allowed to exist
as ourselves,
without apology,
without fear.