You Stayed

on unconditional love, companionship and surviving the storm together

We built the foundations of this home from the ground up, 
Placed every brick with careful precision. 
Toiling and sweating, we formed tentative walls,
Hands aching with the effort of holding them together.
And through it all, you stayed.

When the storm shook our flimsy tenement,
Rattling the frames,
Whistling wind through the doors,
Cold seeping in through the cracks in the floor,
I thought it might all collapse.
It would've been so easy for you to flee, to escape the looming damage,
But you stayed.

As I was strained, I grew frustrated.
I joined the storm in howling, spewing rage at whatever happened to be in my path.
Oftentimes, you got caught in the crossfire,
Assailed by my spiteful missiles.
No one would've faulted you for leaving then,
And yet, you stayed.

I became accustomed to impermanency,
To crumbled walls and fallen roofs,
To seeing everything as temporary.
And yet, as I struggled through the tempests of life,
You were always by my side.
The one constant throughout these tumultuous waves of change—
When everything else was falling apart, you stayed.

Now we have a castle,
Walls strong and sturdy,
Painted red with the blood of our labour
And the mark of our love. 
No wind can breach its stalwart form,
No storm can bring it down.
We raise our flag boldly;
Fluttering in all its silken glory,
It stands to the world as a testament
That we survived.
Our garden flourishes with dancing flowers
Bobbing their heads to the music of our laughter,
Wafting the halls with their sweet perfume—
Proof that efforts do come to bloom,
All because you stayed.

You stayed,
And I am so grateful
That you did.

Image taken from Pinterest

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