Tonight I feel the passage of time
So close
And in the centre of that,
The timeless.

Can I open my heart wide enough,
Nay, can I see that it is already wide enough
To hold the heartbreaking beauty
Of both?

The tender curl of your eyelashes,
The pout of your lip.
The innocence in your eyes,
That brings tears to my own.

I love you as if I’ve already lost you,
For you are an un-capturable moment in time,
Your presence a constant reminder
To breathe,
To love,
To live.

In this knowledge,
I stay my hand from grasping you
Lest I cast an anchor
upon your ship.

For you are sailing freely now,
Strong and bold and true,
With the wind of life in your sails
And the beloved at your tiller.

I know that sometimes the seas will be rough,
Perhaps one day, you will even find yourself mast-less,
Broken and drifting
Upon a seemingly uncaring sea.

But I will do my best to stand staunch in the knowledge
That you are guided
By the tender hand of the unseen.
Perhaps to places deeper within yourself,
Where you see
That regardless of the shape of the ocean,
You were never once, not for a moment,
Separate from the sea.

That you are life, my child!
That you are stardust
And magnificence,
Ancient wisdom
And timeless innocence
All rolled into one.

Yes,
Loving you breaks my heart
Wide open
To life.