007-06

This is not romance
This is recognition

I see you
I do not claim you

Your presence reaches me
Without crossing the line

Desire exists
Permission does not

I carry the heat
Without lighting the fire

I wait
Not because I’m weak
But because timing is real

Love that rushes
Lies to itself

Do not awaken love
Before it can stand

Not because it’s forbidden
Because it can be ruined

I speak what is seen
Not what is promised

I name what is near
Not what I want

Distance is not absence
Restraint is not denial

This space
Keeps us true

I hold you
Without holding you

I honor you
Without taking you

Presence
Boundary
Dignity

This is love
That does not consume