ROMANCE Poem: Star Crossed, by Makenna Allen

It was completely by chance
Our paths crossing
I, a lonely ship in the night
Him, the illustrious moon
He arrived into my life and brought a tidal wave
Leaving nothing untouched
Nothing unchanged
Nothing at all left the same
I had been sailing in darkness for so long
I think I forgot what light was
Could only think of the glaciers in his eyes
Only the touch of his hands
Only the way I want to dive headfirst into the ocean of his mind

The way he made me feel
So seen
So heard
So easy to be loved

Romance novels felt different now
From Dickinson to Bronte
I finally understood
Heathcliff begged Catherine to haunt him after death
Darcy and Lizzie let go of their pride for each other
Romeo loved Juliet so much, he wanted to die for her
I love him so much I want to live for him
He is the Eurydice to my Orpheus and I will turn around every time

I don’t know about the health of these relationships
Just like I don’t know much about star-crossed lovers
Or any of the chemicals my brain produces to make my head spin around him
But what I do know is from the moment his lips touched mine our souls were entwined
And there was nothing in this world that could untangle them
My entire being was sewn into his

I don’t believe in soulmates
But I do believe in Eden because I’ve felt it wrapped in his arms
All the heavens can fall from the sky in a fiery eruption because I have all the heaven I need
lying with him in bed on a Sunday morning
But this love is not akin to fire or ice
Not related to something so easily extinguished or melted away
This love feels concrete
Feels as certain as the passing of time
As constant as the speed of light and the strength of gravity

Now don’t be concerned, I’m not planning a proposal
I don’t have a ring or certificate to be signed
What I do have is a promise
Which feels twice as intense, somehow
I promise that when death finally takes its toll on me
When I do go gently into that good night
It is his hand that I will be waiting to hold on the other side
I won’t say I’ll love him forever because that’s bullshit
I will say I will love him as long as I am in existence
Wherever I am love follows
And that love is his
And if one day we’re both shooting stars
I hope other lovers gaze up at the sky
To wish upon a love as grand as ours