I Promise I’ll Stay Forever

You look at me, but all you see is her. She constantly appears before you; a convincing mirage of a woman, taunting you with her absence. You feel a hollow in your chest where she used to reside; filling you to the brim with tantalizing, bygone fantasies.

A storm of doubt clouds your mind; ensconcing you in shades of gray and ebony as you struggle to reconcile your past with your present. The woman before you gradually fades away, revealing another: startlingly young but undeniably sagacious, tossing her hair back with gleeful irreverence as she tosses out pearls of wisdom.

The youthful woman who stands before you now, primed to bind the wounds her forbear left, is tangible, undeniably real, and bursting with unconditional love. She is fiercely loyal; unyieldingly steeped in care and empathy. She refuses to disappear into the night without a trace; leaving a trail of unanswered questions and a bloody river of abandonment behind her. She longs to tame the haunts of heartbreaks past; the pervasive pain of the scars her predecessors left.

I promise I will never become the woman who left you. I will eternally remain the blissful, enlightened woman who took her place; longing to embrace you, even as life begins to suffocate you. I promise I’ll stay forever; standing alongside you until the end of time.

I promise to constantly carry you through the storms. The waves mount before you; frighteningly high, dizzyingly uncontrollable in their churning wake. You feel a frigid chill sting against your neck as your body grows feeble; fighting to stay afloat, sinking below the surface. But I promise to pull you to shore; unremorsefully loving you through your darkest moments.

I promise to eternally remind you of your river of abundant worth. Your mind clouds over with doubt as you attempt to traverse the desert; the frail shreds of confidence that remain in your soul. You thirst for a sign from above; a gleam of faith that you deserve better. But I promise to imbue your spirit with the oasis you seek; unfailingly vowing to recognize your meritorious heart.

I promise to forever shower your heart with love’s gentle rain. Your false belief that love is forever beyond your reach pours down on you like a torrent; leaving you trapped in the wake of the hurricane. You struggle to seek shelter as you wait for the storm to subside. But I promise to let my love for you wash over you like a misty summer dew; unconditionally cleansing your heart’s open wounds.

I promise to love you for eternity; to devote my heart to preserving your soul and lifting your spirit. I hope you see beyond the painful mirage of the woman who was and instead peer at the kindhearted woman who is. I’m not the woman who walked away. I promise I’ll stay forever.