Beautiful
That's what I thought
When I saw her
I didn't know it then
Everything about her
Was what I wanted to be
What I wanted to love
To envelope
To keep
I didn't know it then
That she would be my rock
My uprise
And then my downfall
She was a symphony
A mess of danger and teasing smiles
She was wild hair
Fire and sunshine
Iron and cotton
She was both a goddess
And a warm bed
My solace at midnight
My birdsong in the early morning
The perfect cup of coffee
And a smooth shot of tequila
Life with her in it was artwork
An exquisite disaster
Everything I didn't deserve
She was needles and pinecones
A rough exterior guarding a gentle heart
But her arms were a comfort
Her voice a lullaby
In the static of the world
She was a bright crimson stripe
A vibrant array of color
Amidst the dull black and white
Everything I needed
And nothing I could have
I was a fool then
I can still taste the regret on my lips
Feel the longing in my bones
I can feel her when it rains
And hear her in the still of the night
The memory of her is burned into me
Like a brand
Or a scar
Or the sting of despair
I could have held on
If I'd known how vital she was
The spine of my life
The nerves
The very air I breathed
If I'd known I needed her then
Loved her
I could've had a heart as vast as the earth
A love deeper than the oceans
Passion that overtook volcanoes
I could have had her
At least for a while
But that would have been enough
If only I'd known