I've seen her eyes.

I’ve seen the way she looks at me.

I’ve watched her investigate my face with inquisitive eyes, as if she’s searching for something. As if she’s testing for a crack in my heart and my love for her. Checking that there is nothing hidden, that no fault lines are developing, and that this Love is as pure as I say.

I’ve caught her with adoration, wonder, and safety in her eyes. I’ve watched her let go of insecurities, old hurts, and old pains that have lingered for far too long. I’ve seen levels of passion, fire, and strength that have frightened men who stand taller than I.

I’ve felt compassion, truth, and love pass from her gaze into mine. Warmth, stillness, acceptance. I’ve watched myself melt, and the world fall away in her glassy globes.

Although she has not, nor will not change to me,

I cannot wait to watch her shift.

To see how the woman she is now,

Will grow into the woman she will be.

To carry the water from the spring to hydrate her.

To protect the soil which nourishes her roots.

To prune the limbs that no longer serve her.

For as I provide a space for her to flourish,

She provides shade to shield me.

She offers fruits which feed me.

She builds homes that envelop me.