I’ve said “I love you” a thousand ways

In quiet rooms and half-lit days

But every time it leaves my mouth

It feels too small for what I’ve found

There’s no phrase I can rely on

No sentence built to hold this weight

I keep reaching for something better

But words just hesitate

If you need somewhere soft to land

I can be the ground beneath your feet

If the world gets loud and sharp again

You can come and breathe with me

I won’t ask you to be stronger

I won’t rush the way you heal

You don’t have to earn your comfort

You don’t have to prove what you feel

I don’t need to fix your weather

I just want to stand inside the rain with you

I wish there were better words than “I love you”

Something deeper than what we’re taught to say

Because what I feel doesn’t fit in language

It lives in how I choose you every day

I’m a place you don’t have to brace yourself in

A quiet you can finally trust

There’s a space in my heart shaped just like you

And I’m keeping it safe for us

I notice how you soften when you laugh

Like you forget to guard your breath

Those little moments you don’t see

Are the ones that stay with me

If you’re afraid you’ll be too much

Or that one day I’ll pull away

I need you to know I’m not going anywhere

I’m not built that way

You don’t have to shrink your feelings

Just to fit into the world tonight

I wish there were better words than “I love you”

Something warmer than what letters make

Because what I feel keeps growing

Every time I see your face

I’m a place you don’t have to brace yourself in

A home you don’t have to rush

There’s a space in my heart shaped just like you

And I carved it there on purpose

If everything else starts falling apart

I’ll still be here, still choosing you

Not as a promise made of sound

But in the quiet things I do

So if “I love you” feels too simple

Just know I mean something more

I mean stay

I mean safe

I mean you’re what my heart is for

There’s a space in my heart shaped just like you

And it’s yours, always was

If there were better words

I’d give them all to you

But until then

"I love you" will have to do