After the noise

The room went quiet slow

But you were still with me

No rushing words to catch

No fear of being seen

I used to brace for leaving

Before the calm could stay

Tonight the silence softened

It did not pull away

I meant the words I gave

I do not speak them light

I know what almost costs

I know what leaves behind

So I stayed through the stillness

I stayed through what it held

Not to be something greater

Just to be there myself

After the noise

After the ache

After the years

Of too much weight

We did not run

We did not hide

We let the quiet

Stand by our side

Shadow you felt different

Not louder just more near

Like winter with a heartbeat

Like dark without the fear

You did not ask for brightness

You did not need a show

You only held the moment

And let the moment slow

Rose you were still shaking

Though no one else could tell

You smiled the way you always do

And hid it far too well

But I could feel the tired

Beneath your steady grace

So I stayed close beside you

And did not look away

After the noise

After the flame

Nothing was borrowed

Nothing was named

Just two worn hearts

Learning the shape

Of something quiet

That did not break

I used to think of love

As something fast and bright

A hand I could not keep

A blur across the light

Now love feels like a breathing

That finally comes easy

A hand that does not vanish

A truth that does not leave

I was not made for softness

At least not how it seemed

But something in your kindness