I have loved you more than anyone else.
I have defended you,
swallowed my cries,
dug my nails into my skin
just to cover the bruises you leave behind,
so the world could see you unblemished,
untouched, perfect.

I’ve dreamed of a softer you,
a gentler you,
a you that smiles like the sun breaking through clouds.
Someone who'd laugh with me,
not just at the world.
But you’re always solemn,
wrapped in your silence,
draped in a seriousness that weighs us both down.

“Have you noticed?” I ask,
“We’ve been together so long,
but we only ever laugh so seldom.”

I know it’s not fair,
not right,
to ask you to change.
But can’t you,
for once,
let down the walls you've built so high?
Can’t you love me softly,
just this once?
Without the edges, without the armor,
just your skin against mine,
your heart in your hands,
beating softly,
gently,
only for me.

Because I have loved you
more than anyone else,
and I just need to feel
that you love me
in return,
softly,
for once.
Before the weight of us
crushes all that we could have been.

© reddragonfly