I found her
Somewhere between the hello and goodbye
Her heart was in the liquid sunsets
Melted
Staring at the clouds
Face to the wind
It carried the scent of rust
The copper of a wound
But
She smiled
And it made me gasp
She was not ashamed of the wars she had faught
To save herself
I didn't ask about the scars
Much later
She would tell me the stories behind them
Of the ones she was given
And the ones she created
Born of guilt
To atone for sins that were not hers
The entire time
My ears heard only the question in her tone
Would you stay?
Would you love me anyway?
Sometimes she likes to look at me
As if her eyes are scanning a photograph
And sometimes she holds me in a way that shows me she wants this
With scared hands
It's enough that
When my skin touches hers
She no longer recoils
Most often
She likes solitude
The peace of being alone
I see the way she unhangs the burden of pretense
And slips into the silence
For days at a time
I know that I cannot belong if I am afraid of staying
You cannot fly if you are afraid of falling
So I gave myself to her
Long before I thought I had a choice
To take in pieces or whole
But what did it matter
I am hers
Hers
In a way no one else ever was
Hers
In a world where she didn't fit in
And I'd like to think that she is mine
Even though I know she never could be