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When you fall in love,
it is not like the songs
people sing over wine.

Nor is it like the stories
that end happily ever after.

It is something far more dangerous.

As if someone lights a star inside your chest,
and from that flame
you both bloom
and burn.

When you fall in love,
you begin to long.

Not a little.

Not reasonably.

But the way the earth longs for rain
after a long summer.

The way the sea longs for the river.

The way the night longs for the moon.

You begin to long for someone’s hands,
their voice,
their footsteps,
their laughter.

You begin to long even for things
you have never had.

Mornings together.

Ordinary days.

Years.

When you fall in love,
you see a promise in every spring.

A message in every breeze.

A face
in every sunset.

And suddenly the world becomes too small
for everything you feel.

So you stay silent.

Because there are no words.

How do you explain
that one person
can make you happier than the sun
and sadder than the rain?

How do you explain
that you miss them
even when they are right there?

When you fall in love,
your heart becomes a restless bird.

It beats its wings against your ribs.

Searching.

Calling.

Refusing to settle.

And it is not enough
just to love.

It wants more.

It wants to belong.

It wants to be loved
with the same intensity.

It wants to rest its head
upon someone’s chest
and say:

“There. I’ve arrived.”

When you fall in love,
a woman awakens inside you
that you never knew before.

Softer.

Braver.

Hungrier for love.

And willing to cross half the world
for a single glance.

And the strangest thing of all is that,
despite every fear,
despite every possible wound,

you never wish to save yourself.

Because you know.

One moment of true love
is worth more

than an entire lifetime without it.