Love, Unfeigned

by SHOLOLA OLUWAFEYISIKEMI

 My soul still reaches out to you

With every breath I take, my heart pulsates to the rhythm  of your love 

I remember the day we met 

I had heard about you, countless times.

I was desperate for love, I was all but blinded to yours.

Till I let myself withdraw into a cocoon of brokenness. 

And then, your friends told me more about you

And more and more

Till I was ready to accept this unfeigned love I was warming up to

I was filled with so much joy as I embraced your love, and then they told me you had a gift for me

They whispered "open your heart"

For so long I wondered "what did that even mean?"

Did it mean to literally open the organ that pumped my blood?

No, that was the countless movies I'd watched talking.

Did it mean to close my eyes till I felt my heart burst open?

My eyebrows, deeply furrowed in concentration, and my lips pursed in frustration

Till slowly I felt your peace and the gift of your spirit

And as we journey through the highs and the lows 

I still hear your voice whispering "I am here"

When I ran, you chased me, I ran away again, you caught me, and I ran some more, yet each time, your love kept reaching out to me.

Your sweet overwhelming love

Present then, and present now

And so my soul still longs for you, and my heart pants for more of YAH, the one I love.