Will You Hold My Hand?

Will you... Hold my hand for a little while?

Not as my savior, but as my witness.

The autumn chill has settled into my bones,

And I find myself standing at the threshold of my own wilderness.

I don't need you to save me from these shadows.

No need for you to untangle the knots i've spent years tying.

No need for you to shoulder the weight of memories

That press against my chest with each shallow breath.

But will you simply intertwine your fingers with mine?

I don't need elaborate consolations whispered in my ear,

Your carefully constructed philosophies of pain,

Nor your steady frame to collapse against.

But will you sit here beside me on this weathered bench,

As the world continues its indifferent turning?

While salt-warm tears carve familiar paths down my cheeks,

While my heart shatters like crystal against stone; each fragment catching light,

While my mind conjures spectral fears from forgotten corners,

Will you, with your steady presence, remind me that even in this vastness,

I am not traversing this landscape entirely alone?

For this darkness is mine to navigate; its contours known only to me,

My pain is mine to feel; its depths I alone can measure,

And these wounds are mine to tend; with trembling hands that grow steadier with time.

But would you remain here, your breathing a gentle metronome,

While I gather my courage to face what i've spent years running from?

I am luminous precisely because I have known the absence of light,

Beautiful not despite my brokenness, but because these fault lines let my inner light escape,

And strong because my tender heart has been bruised but continues its faithful rhythm.

But would you take my hand; skin against skin; when the path leads me

Into forests where sunlight struggles to penetrate the canopy?

I would never ask you to dispel this darkness that sometimes claims me,

I don't expect your presence alone to transform my stormy skies to clear blue,

And I know well that you cannot stitch closed what time and tears must heal.

But I would cherish the warmth of your palm against mine,

As I navigate the twisted geography of my shadowland.

So, will you... Hold my hand until I find my way back to myself?

Not forever, just for this passage.

Not to lead, just to accompany.

Not to rescue, just to remind me that connection

Can be a lantern in even the deepest night.