You have wept an ocean in the middle of the night, curled against my back as if to keep yourself from being swept under, and in the morning I long to kiss away the dried salt in the corners of your eyes; but I never imagined this, never in all the years before we met did I wonder what you looked like with tears in your eyes (because how could I ever cause you pain?) so when your gaze finds mine I’m suddenly too shy; too shy to say I would drown with you in that ocean, if you asked, or that I will shelter you through every storm no matter the waves or the wind; too shy to profess my desperate, devoted heart and so I merely kiss you, lips and brow, and promise to return to your side.