Thank You, Beloved Friend.

I watched my loved ones,

Build their homes,

With bricks of lust,

Only to be washed away,

As easily as they were built.

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Then, I watched my peers,

Mould their homes,

Using their own beautiful minds,

Only to abandon this residence,

Once they found another ‘half’.

-

My life has been spent observing,

Learning these lessons at arm’s length,

Fearing all the heartbreak,

Expecting all of the insecurity,

Residing in the safety of the rolling clouds.

-

And then I saw you, wholly.

-

Your home is elaborately formed,

From the beauty of your body,

Using the bricks of your affection,

Every few years it is rebuilt, like Ise Jingu,

You radiate love.

-

And I am fascinated.

-

You kindly showed me the imperfections in your foundations,

Forged in the city you fell in love,

After you gave me a safe place to explore the fragility of your bricks,

Lovingly gifted to you, but crumbled all the same,

Each lesson ended in your smile, as pure as your intentions.

-

Finally, I allowed myself to be grounded without fear

Following the blueprints I learned from my tour of you

Though similarly fragile, my own bricks began to take shape

And for the first time

I was home.