My One of One

My only one,

Shining like the tropic sun,

your cocoa skin,

smoother than silk,

softer than crushed velvet,

and a heart so pure

you can’t help but love all the creatures—

even those little worms.

I feel so lucky

to have held you

for as long as I have.

With you in my arms,

This crazy world somehow makes sense.

I never knew what my arms were for

until I held you.

I never knew what my hands were for

until I touched you.

I never knew what my heart was for

until you gave me yours

and somehow

we became one.

Rest assured, you have my whole heart.

I want no one…

I want nothing else.

I think about us, back in the day

back when everything was new—

laying together in your bed,

listening to our playlist,

laughing, singing, talking,

staying up way later than we should.

Just staring up at the star lamp

wrapped up in each other,

with nowhere else to be.

I just knew.

We had found something

I had never found anywhere else.

Something special.

And here we still are,

All these years and memories later,

And I can still feel it.

You make me stronger.

You make me want to try harder,

love deeper,

to become someone

worthy of the love you give me.

You will always be my sunshine.

And I am proud to be the moonlight—

shining beside you,

a little softer,

a little darker,

but ever drawn toward your light.

Because that’s what you do.

Effortlessly… every day.

You light up my whole sky.

It’s the way you laugh.

It’s your tender heart,

the way you can see something small

something most people would miss

and find a reason to care.

I love the parts of you

you let the world see,

but even more,

I love the little parts

that only I get to see.

There’s no one else like you.

I’m grateful I found you again

I’m grateful you chose me

And if I could go back

to the beginning of us,

I wouldn’t trade a single minute

I’d find you again.

I’d choose that first laugh.

That first touch.

That first night.

I’d choose your hand in mine.

Your head on my chest.

Falling asleep beside you

and waking up next to you.

Over and over.

I’d do it all again.

All those ordinary moments

that somehow became

my favorite memories.

No matter what the future holds

I’ve learned something beautiful

You are my home

You are my sanctuary

As long as we have each other

I know I’m gonna be okay

So today, on your birthday

I don’t want to make you sad.

I just want to tell you

how lucky I feel

that I got to spend all these moments with you.

For all the laughs we’ve shared.

For all the nights we’ve held each other.

I don’t tell you that enough

I’m proud of all our memories

And hopefully there are many more

Still waiting for us.

You deserve the best.

And that’s what I want to be… for you.

Not because you asked me for that,

but because loving you

makes me want to become

the best version of myself.

My mahal,

My sunshine,

my one of one,

my only one—

I love you

for who you are,

for who you were,

and for the person

you’re still becoming.

I love the woman I know today,

And that girl I fell for back in high school,

and every version in between.

If I had a thousand lives to live,

I would hope

that somewhere, somehow

in each one of them,

I’d find you.

I’d hold you.

I’d choose you.

I’d look at you

And feel those butterflies

I felt when I first realized:

There you are.

My sunshine.

My love.

My one of one.

Happy birthday.