Love

I write in to the early hours.
Awoken by her moving through the house
preparing for work.
That necessity swallowing her up
for the waking day.

Soon it will be more.
Soon there will be only moments.
What we know now as life
will become work.

And in loving her
I have to allow her to tread that path.
Support her as her mind and body
react to the side-effects of exchanging oneself
for income.

I will wake up, ready to start the day.
My day.
She will leave.
I will end my day and close my eyes.
She will return.
This is what the world demands of us now.
What little we have.

And as I pull her close to me at 2 am
to stop her cries
and to whisper
“It’s okay, I’m here.
You don’t have to be scared.”
She clings to my arms

and I cry now.
No matter what darkness I find in her absence
She will never have to be scared.