I don’t love you violently.
I don’t need to break myself open,
to prove that I care.
I love you in the choice to stay calm,
to not turn fear into drama,
to not make my feelings your burden.
My love is restraint.
It is trust without surveillance.
It is wanting you
without needing to be wanted back the same way.
I don’t reach for you when I’m loud inside.
I wait until I’m steady.
That’s how I know it’s real.