To someone who felt like the sunshine

I hope one day, the man I marry reminds me of you. Not in a way that makes me ache for what was, but in a way that feels like peace like gratitude. A reminder that you were good. You showed me what I wanted, what I love most about people.

You never made me feel like I was too much. Even when my heart spilled over, you never asked me to quiet down, to shrink, to be smaller to fit inside your comfort. You let me be everything wild, wordy, feeling. You protected my heart in your own way. You never went out of your way to break me you just wanted me to be happy.

Your voice was gentle, your words careful, your promises…kept, even when your world no longer touched mine.

You will always be sunshine a sunset I once looked forward to, a moment of gold I got to live inside of. When the sky softens into orange and honey, I’ll think of you not with longing, but with thanks. Proof that it wasn’t all a fairytale made up to fill the loneliness. It was real. It was beautiful.

Everyone I ever cared for that deeply without bounds or conditions, without needing a drop in return they were sunsets too. Fleeting, never meant to last, but worth every moment. Worth witnessing.

I hope you never cross my mind again. But if you do, I hope it’s through someone I love someone who loves me. A reflection of what you once showed me, gentle and good. I don’t want to think of you, but I’ll always hold space for you, if you’re ever remembered through love.

Because now, I’m ready to stop chasing sunsets. I’m ready for the sunrise to feel it, not just see it. To dance in the warmth it offers, to live in the light that stays.

Thank you, sunshine for the glow, for the gentleness, for teaching me how to love and let go.

May your light reach the places mine no longer does. And when dawn comes, I’ll meet it with open hands carrying only warmth, and the memory of your light.