The Way We Begin

I know you’re scared.
I can feel it in the way
your hands hesitate—
like they’ve never been held right
before.

And I won’t lie to you.
I’m scared too.
Not of love,
but of losing what I’ve never
really had before—
something that feels like
peace
in the middle of a storm.

So here’s what I’ll promise you:
I won’t run.
Not when the old fears show up.
Not when the soft parts shake.
Not even when the world tells us
to guard our hearts
like they’re made of glass
instead of growing things.

Let’s face this love together—
not perfectly,
not without wounds,
but bravely.

I don’t need the kind of love
that dances in daylight
only to disappear when the night comes.

I need this.
The trembling truth of you.
The quiet hope of us.
The steady, sacred choice to stay.