Madeline

Madeline, you pass through the world like a held breath, listening for the echo of what was never said. Silence gathers around you, learning your name. You are not gentle for rescue- you bend the way reeds do, remembering the river. You keep certain fires cupped in your palms, others you let fade into ash. Your name is stitched with memory, with unsent letters and unfinished prayers, with nights that taught you how staying became an art. Madeline, you cradle your storms like glass, careful, deliberate. Even in ruin, lights finds a way through you. You love with a quiet gravity, pulling truth closer without demand. You stand where you are, and the earth, slowly, listens.