Love Unfolding

His breath brings peace to my soul. I lay next to the Shadow of my soul. He is off in dreams and I am living a dream. I cannot distinguish any longer if it is I who lives and he who dreams or if it is he who lives and I who dream. He has brought forth from my soul the need to be loved; the desire to love in turn. 1

My hand travels the outline of his face; my fingers come to rest against his lips, soft to the touch. It is these lips which said words to me that I have never known possible to be said before, not in regards to myself anyway. It is these lips which have taught me that when the truth is uttered, it can stop the heart, feed the soul, and cause butterflies in the tummy, shivers down the spine. It is these lips which have soothed my tears, soften my rough tongue, kissed the scars. 2

I lie here and I watch him sleep. It brings my heart peace. I kiss his forehead and then his eyelids. His eyes have seen deeper than any knife could wound. My eyes, though windows to my soul, have always been locked shut; it was he who opened them. His eyes strip me naked and he sees only who I am, not who I pretend to be. He shatters all that I thought I needed to defend myself, to hide myself from the world. He saw all that I had let myself become and helped me to stand again.3

When I breathe in it is he who I am breathing in; it is the essence of his being, the presence of his soul, the love of his heart. He lies wrapped in my love, sleeping; I lie next to him and hear him live. It is not enough to breathe and to function without him by my side. He is all that I ought to need; however, I learned long ago that I must first need myself. I find strength in love and it is his love that bears the burdens that I cannot bear; that show me strength and comfort when I cannot find them myself. 4

Safety is found in the arms of my love, in the very words of his eyes, in all that he does not say. Silence breathes life into our love, for we need not speak of it to know it is there. It is enough to just know. Love found a battered soul and a lost mind; somewhere in the middle of finding themselves, they found each other.5

I cannot lie beside him, cannot listen to the beating of his heart, feel his warm breath against my cheek, and not weep. I have never known a safety, a comfort, a freedom, and imprisonment like this before. I have never been needed beyond the point of friendship. My soul cries to his; my heart falls into sync with his; my eyes close and he still lingers within my sight. I find peace in his love. 6

Lying next to him, I remember the first night he told me he was in love with me. Beauty was redefined that night. The words were new to my ears and unexpected. Though I had already professed my love, he had not. His words and actions told me otherwise; I knew he loved me. Passion and emotion clung to each word as the phrase; “I am in love you” stumbled from his lips. I could not hear a single thing but that phrase, my life became that phrase. My heartbeat increased, my stomach flew to another world, my scarred soul healed, if only just a little. He now reminds me of his love every moment he can. Though I already know it, the words are just as pleasant to hear.7

I pull myself back from my reminiscence to see that he is awake; his brown eyes sink into mine, his lips curve in a small smile, and he looks content. He glows. I can’t help but smile. He brushes the hair away from my eyes, searches them for something he has already found there, and completes me with one kiss. 8

My soul and his soul become one. We are complete; we are in love.