I dreamt he walked around the corner…
And when his eyes found mine,
we froze there for a moment,
eyes already brimming with tears
before either of us could speak.

Not from sorrow,
but from recognition.

We ran to each other
like two lost things finally returned.
Arms wrapped tight enough
to hold back time itself.

Familiarity I hadn’t tasted in

far, far too long.

Then we sat together quietly
and spoke of the years.

Of all the ways

life had carved itself into us.
The lines on our faces.
The silver in our hair.
The soft ache of aging.

And when I laid my head in his lap,
he stroked my hair
as naturally as breathing.
As naturally as the tide
returning to shore.

In that small tenderness,
something inside me broke open.

Because I had not felt this seen,
this loved,

this held,
this known,
in decades.

Then morning slowly crept across my bedroom floor,
pale gold and quiet theft,
to steal heaven from me.