Lost

Before I understood the world,

I somehow understood love

and that was because of you.

I didn’t know why flowers dared to bloom in winter,

where the sun went when the night arrived,

or what stitched the northern lights across the sky.

I didn’t know any of that.

But when I imagined love,

when I tried to name it or make sense of it,

it always looked like you.

With you, the world felt legible.

Why lungs crave oxygen,

why sunsets feel like prayers,

why music moves through us

as if the soul has veins

none of it needed explanation.

It all made sense beside you.

Even love,

that ancient, confusing force

the world has failed to define

was suddenly simple.

With you, mystery fell quiet.

And now you are gone.

And now, nothing makes sense at all.

The questions have returned,

but the answers no longer live here.