Everything In Balance

You are the hand on my shoulder
when the world tips too far,
a weight that steadies,
not heavy,
just certain.

My fire rises reckless--
hungry to burn through walls,
to scorch the air itself.
You do not smother it.
You do not fear it.
You keep it from devouring me whole.

Your calm is a circle drawn around my blaze,
a boundary made of quiet strength,
and somehow, inside your steadiness,
I find a way to breathe again.

I am autumn,
leaves curling into flame,
branches whispering with the weight of loss,
golden light already slanting low.
My beauty is fleeting,
my edges sharp with change,
yet you stand unafraid in my weather.

You carry spring in your step--
blossoms opening wherever you linger,
birdsong threading the silence,
the sky a clear blue above you.
Your presence is renewal,
tender shoots rising through frost.

Because of you,
I am not only fire--
I am also light,
contained enough to warm,
bright enough to guide.

Everything in balance,
because you are here.