Artemis' Pensieve

bear

First and foremost: I love you.

I wanted to get it out of the way.
All to say,
I love you.

But to say I love you,
Is to admit you're scared.

To say I love you,
Is to admit you're there.

For some reason,
Vulnerability came as friend; in the dead of the night
Bare and humble in all its might.

With it came a gift,
A curse, a lullaby.
Each to her own understanding.
Each, to her own animosity.

On that night, she admitted—surrendered, even.
To the breath of the moment,
To the promise of commitment.

I said I love you
Because I mean it,
To this day
'till the last day you decide I don't anymore.

I'll say I love you then,
Not because you're there to hear it.
I'd say I love you then,
For me

to bear it.