I feel so beautiful in your eyes
the way they hold me so softly, adoration etched in the soft curve of your smile
our bodies gravitate towards each other: hands, legs, arms, feet, I don't care I just want to be close to you
when you hold me, I feel as though I am standing on solid ground for the first time
your embrace like the only oasis I have ever known, as if life is a desert and everyone else was just a mirage
I grew so used to swallowing sand that I forgot how water tasted but you have brought me to the river and let me quench my thirst
and by that I mean you encourage me to finish a story when I stop out of fear it is boring you, and you listen to every word
even in the interruptions I know you still want to hear how it ends
I am so used to fawning in conversation, never able to get a word in edge-wise anyway, but you carve out space for me to speak
you praise me as intelligent and talented and beautiful even when I do not see myself as such, and you proclaim it to the world , shutting down my imposter syndrome every time it comes out to play, making sure I know that you see my worth
I can only hope my love is enough in return, for it is all yours, if you will have it