Guarded heart

when my inner world became winter

It happened quietly.

A disappointment here.
Silence there.
Conversations where I said
“I’m fine”
instead of telling the truth.

Joy became too loud.
Sadness became too heavy.
Love became something
I watched from distance.

And without noticing,
my inner world became winter.

I learned how to survive.
How to function.
How to speak without saying much.
How to stay close to people
without truly arriving.

My heart did not stop beating.

It simply stopped reaching.

And then there was you.

You had the patience
to surround my guarded heart
with soft hands.

No force.
No loud rescue.
No attempt to tear the walls apart.

Just warmth.

And somewhere between your softness
and my silence,

I slowly remembered
what it felt like
to let something reach me again.