I’ve traced the hurt,
Held the pieces of our past
Sharp against my skin,
Wondering if love was ever enough
To survive the shattering.

And still—
Through the silence,
The ache,
The growth we endured apart…

I choose you.

Not the version from before,
But the one who’s learning,
Who’s trying,
Who’s meeting me again
In the middle
Of forgiveness and fire.

I choose the risk
Of starting again,
Of love rebuilt
Brick by trembling brick.

Because despite everything—
You are still the home
My heart returns to
When the storm clears.

And this time,
We will build it stronger.

I want to build a home with you
a place pieced together of words,
passed from you to me.

Eventually, the walls will breathe,
and they, too, will whisper
through our bones.

No matter how old we get,
they will still be there.

Although neither of us will
completely own this home,
what we will own
is how it makes us feel
and the memories we'll soon sit on
like furniture.

A place we'll come to spend
most of our time,
an inner standing
that it will house both of us,
no matter how we choose
to express ourselves.

The first meal we'll have,
I'll season with my smile
so you can taste what I taste
and feel what I feel
when I see you.

Then you'll understand
why I have nothing to hide,
why I open and include you
in different places in my life.

In this home I want to build with you,
there isn't a wind or a force
that could blow it down.

Even if we were to separate,
my hands will still remember
how we built it
brick by brick,

the mortar sealed
with a kiss from your lips