When loving,
hold them gently,
like water cupped in your hands
close enough to feel its coolness,
loose enough that it still breathes.
Do not fold yourself
into shapes that erase your edges,
do not dim your light
so another may glow.
Love is not meant
to be a burial ground for your voice,
but a river where two currents meet
each strong, each free,
each carrying its own sky.
Give deeply,
but remember:
your soul is not a sacrifice,
it is a home.
N