I Knew Then

When February’s midday winds met me at my seat as you entered the room and I caught but a glimpse of your face
When the light from the world beyond my peripheral vision, beams who’d traveled millions of miles to see our first encounter, outlined your body
I knew then
When conversations were heavy with uncertainty as we knew not one another, still yet our words flowed, revealing boundless potential
I knew when we walked side by side down the brisk city streets and I first heard your story
When night found us alone and a kiss unlocked the truth that we two were fated to find love again

When dawn revealed us no longer strangers and you lay sleeping
Yes, I drew the curves of your face over and again with my index finger
When you woke, and the crack in the stone around your spirit revealed a small piece of hope for my heart to heal yours
Yes, I memorized your laugh and vowed to protect you at whatever cost to myself the second I had to return home that first time

I knew then

As the days became weeks and I was no longer able to deny how well our hands fit
When four walls lost their meaning and you became my home
The moment the sunlight cascaded through the windshield and I saw forever in your eyes
When dreams became shared visions among lovers

It was no coincidence
I vowed to hold you above my own needs before I ever spoke those words to you
I held our commitment to one another above all others
When I packed my life into a suite case and refused to leave
Because one day without you was the greatest torment a man could endure

I wondered how any had ever found you before me
And saw not the beauty in every move you make
I wept on my mother’s shoulder the day I confessed I could not live without you
I wept for the years I wasted on anyone else but you

As I laid in bed and begged the gods to make me a man worthy of you
As I deliberately placed myself in an unfamiliar circumstance so that you would not suffer change too soon on your part
As I stepped away from my world and into yours
I knew then

I knew when I could not breathe without speaking your name
I knew when “I” became “we” within every conversation
I knew when I looked to the meaningless embers of my past as they beckoned me to give them fire once more, but your presence in my life suffocated them swiftly

I knew then we were infinite
I knew then