First Time

(Like the First Time)

I saw you—

and the world exhaled,

like it had held its breath

just waiting for this moment.

How can time pass

and still fold itself

so neatly into a smile?

There you were,

glowing with stories I hadn’t lived,

but still somehow knew

like echoes from the same heartbeat.

That smile—

oh, that smile.

A lighthouse,

a wildfire,

a sunrise that refuses to apologize

for taking a little longer this morning.

I was so proud

and my heart swelled like it remembered

exactly why you mean so much,

why your joy feels like sunlight

warming all the places I forgot were cold.

No matter the time,

no matter the miles,

you never owe me an apology

for living your life,

for taking the long way back.

I am here.

I will be here.

Through every quiet year,

every loud return.

Through distance that dances like shadows

and reunions that feel like miracles.

Each time I see you—

each time I really see you—

it feels like the first time:

my heart recognizing something ancient,

true,

and so deeply loved.

So go live,

dream loud,

run wild.

And when the world brings you back again,

I’ll be waiting

with the same joy,

the same awe,

the same joy —

like no time has passed at all. ❤️

- Zakari:)