On the other side

I have lived on two sides of the same hill
Held my head under water until my lungs ached
I’ve counted stars around the world, 
and blades of grass in my father’s backyard
I am privileged, and lucky beyond belief
Forced into humility, down upon my knees
I’ve seen the other side, the darkness, the anguish
Walked the boulevard of broken dreams
Stood at the bottom, my spine crumbling inside of me
beneath the world weighing on my shoulders
I felt an insatiable desire to destroy the ground I stood upon
I was black and blue, barely breathing, when she called out:
“I felt your pain. I came as fast as I could fly.”
Her voice, the only thing that stopped the ringing
She lifted me up, carried me when I couldn’t walk
Through her, I found my place, my heart, my smile
It was like a fog was lifted from my eyes
The realization that life would never be the same
I have loved the most precious woman in the world
And lost her, more than once, often my fault
Her touch, like an anchor that keeps me grounded
She holds me like the horizon enveloping the sunset
A gate ajar, a gravel drive, a white picket fence
Years passed before I realized that she was home