What shall I do if I lose you
When your name is the only place
My heart knows how to rest
What becomes of my mornings
If they wake without your warmth
If the sun rises but nothing feels bright
Where will I place my hands
When they remember only
The shape of you
How will I breathe
When every breath I take
Was taught to me by loving you
I fear the silence most
The way it might swallow me whole
The way it might echo your absence
Until I forget the sound of my own voice
But even in that fear
I hold you gently
Not tightly
Because love is not a cage
And losing you would break me
But keeping you by force
Would break us both
So I love you freely
Even with trembling hands
Even with the knowledge
That hearts can wander
And if I lose you
I will not know what to do
I only know
I will learn to live again
Slowly
Painfully
Like a flower blooming
After a long winter storm