I didn't need your voice
to tell me that you love me.
Words can echo without weight,
fall into silence before they reach the heart.

What I needed from you was honesty.
Not promises woven in warmth,
but truth-
even if it came cold and unpolished.

Because honesty would let me feel,
at all times,
what true love really means.

Not comfort.
Not the illusion of always.
But presence,
and the quiet courage to be seen,
without pretending.

That is love-
not spoken,
but lived.