For My Beloved (A Reading for a Partner)

You were my morning and my evening,
the voice I reached for in the dark.
You were the one who knew my silence
and could read the language of my heart.

We built our world from ordinary things—
shared meals and quiet conversations,
the rhythm of our days together,
the private map of our creation.

I cannot say I was prepared
for this enormous, empty space,
for reaching out across the bed
and finding nothing in your place.

But I will tell you what remains:
every kindness that you showed me,
every time you chose me, stayed with me—
that love is still inside me, wholly.

You taught me what it means to be
truly known by someone's eyes.
That gift does not diminish;
it does not fade, it does not die.

So I will carry you beside me
in every step I take from here.
Not as a weight, but as a light.
Not gone from me, but always near.