Stay

I walked to where you lay,

wrapped in a quiet kind of grey.

"Are you okay?"

you gave a nod,

a silent sway.

I called you over

to my place.

You came,

and settled

close enough

for the world to lose its pace.

"If you need to rest,

then rest with me."

You smiled,

as though

that's where

you'd always wished to be.

My hand

found your face

without a sound.

For a moment,

it felt

like home

had finally been found.

I pulled away.

You opened your eyes

and softly said,

"Leave it there."

So, I did.

My fingertips

wandered every line,

every curve,

every trace,

trying to memorize

the poetry

of your face.

It felt too gentle,

too tender,

too true,

like a dream

that somehow

had learned

how to come into view.

You kept your eyes closed,

then opened them slow,

just enough

to let me know

that peace

had found you too.

"Sleep,"

I whispered.

"I'll be here

when you wake."

You wrapped yourself

inside my rug,

then reached for my hand

with effortless love.

You tucked it close,

away from the cold,

like it was

something precious

to hold.

Then slowly

you lifted it

to your lips,

kiss after kiss,

soft as rain,

again,

and again,

and again,

until silence

was speaking

your name.

When you were done,

you placed my hand

back upon your cheek,

as though my touch

was the language

your heart chose to speak.

I could see it then

the warmth,

the calm,

the way your guarded soul

had finally

let down its arms.

Then,

with the gentlest smile,

you asked me

for a kiss.

I kissed your cheek,

and for one impossible moment,

the world

forgot

everything

it had ever missed.

We were simply

warm.

Safe.

Loved.

The kind of peace

that asks for nothing,

the kind of love

that never needs proving.

If I could,

I would've folded

that morning

into forever,

hidden it somewhere

time could never sever.

But time

keeps moving,

and space

keeps pulling away.

Still,

if I had been given

one impossible prayer,

it would've been

for you

to 

stay.

- Taruna Ghera