Please don't die

I love

like a storm

terrified of its own strength

terrified it will destroy

what it longs most to protect.

I hold people

at arm’s length

because I can already hear

the silence

they’ll leave behind.

and so

I lose them twice—

once in fear

and once

in truth.

but oh,

if only they knew

how much I ache

just to hold them

and whisper,

“please don’t die

before I learn

how to live without you.”