Brave Enough to Love

There’s a trembling in my chest,

A whisper I try to quiet,

It speaks of walls built high and thick,

And of keeping my heart silent.

I’ve watched my heart grow wild and soft,

And shielded it in stone,

Because love is more than sweetened words—

It’s letting go of bone.

To open up this careful heart

Means loosening each seam,

Means facing ghosts of heartache past,

And risking every dream.

But here you stand with open hands,

And eyes that call me home,

And I’m caught between a love so bright

And the fear of the unknown.

Yet something in your steady gaze

Soothes the edge of fear,

So I let you in, with every scar,

Despite each falling tear.

For though love holds the weight of pain,

And loss we sometimes find,

The courage to love is stronger still—

It’s the bravest of all kinds.