To The Man Who Showed Me How It Felt to be Loved

To the man who made me laugh,
and pushed me to reach for my goals;
To the man who told me my coffee shop orders were too long,
yet combated my doubts with positivity;
To the man who wanted me to be everything,
and not too much of anything;
To the man who held back out of fear,
but forgave easily;
To the man who taught me the joy of putting his needs before my own,
and the pain of having to stand up for myself alone.
To the man who showed me I could be strong even when I didn’t feel it,
and what it was liked to be loved.
To the man who didn’t know what he wanted:
You have taught me to not seek happiness in another person, but that joy can be found, even if temporarily, in the experience of sharing life and love with another learning, growing human being.