If You Let Me

I know that you flinch when they reach

I know that trust for you, is a door that creaks from being slammed too many times.

I see how you smile with your guard still up,

how your laughter checks the exits.

You don’t have to explain,

I’ve known silence that speaks in pulses too.

I am not here to fix you.

I am not here to ask for the pieces you’re not ready to give.

I just want to sit beside your storm,

to bring you warmth without asking for the rain to stop.

Let me learn your language of fear and answer it with quiet certainty.

I will not rush your becoming.

I will not write your healing in my name.

But I’ll stay,

if you let me.

I’ll hold the light until you remember you can hold it,

too.