When I Met You

When first we met,


I was surprised by your eyes

Not blue, as expected

But brown, like wished upon pennies



When we first met,

and They passed you to me

Your fingers, thin as telephone wire,

stretched just to curl 'round my pinky



When we first met,

the world dropped away,

lost importance, paling in contrast

to the inconcievable smallness of your nose



When we first met,

your mouth searched against my chest,

your hair, silky as spiderwebs,

floating across my neck



When we first met,

your Being stole my heart,

stopped my breath,

changed my world



But. . .



After we first met, 

I didn't know

I believed the wrong people

I let them cut you



After we first met,

I was ignorant of the facts,

blinded my own good intentions

and misled by Those I Trusted



After we first met,

I never knew the scope of the apology I'd owe you,

the risks I exposed you to,

or what I was taking away



After we first met,

I made a mistake

and let you pay the balance

Without meaning to



And. . .



Since then when I met you,

I've kept you from harm,

I've celebrated your laughter

And comforted your little hurts



Since then when I met you,

You've never again cried without comfort,

been left tearfully lurching for an absent protection

you instinctively knew should have been there



Since then when I met you,

I've never again failed you so gravely,

never again cost you so dearly,

would never again let anyone cut you in any way



If. . .



I could go back to when I met you,

I'd protect every part of your Being

I'd erase the one time you were violated

I'd steal you away from Them

I'd grab myself by the shoulders

and not shy away from the apprehension

I let be silenced by Those I Trusted

I'd keep you close instead

I'd hold you at my heart where you belonged

I'd keep all of the joy and forego your pain

and the pain I'd carry later

and the scars I allowed us both to obtain

You've always been nothing but a light in my world

and I am so forever sorry I let some darkness into part of yours