The winds blew chilly that day,

The golden leaves of the fall,

Rained around me as I sat there

On that solitary rickety bench

The rustling of the dry leaves,

Being dragged around by the winds,

And the squeaking of the old seat,

Reminding constantly of the past it held.

My hands were folded in my lap,

As I stared at the stubby fingers,

My palms were freezing cold from the chill,

And the warmth of a human presence,

Seemed so alien in that moment.

An occasional pedestrian,

A lady with a dog,

A guy with headphones on,

A youthful couple giggling

All of them floated away with the wind,

Never stopping to cast a glance at me.

I guess I liked my world undisturbed.

But when the alone became the lonely,

And the thoughts raced faster than the winds,

Then, only then did I shift

From my eternal posture of stagnation

Wrinkled and frozen in time

I rubbed my own palms for warmth,

Hugging myself for reassurance.

That I was still alive,

Wrinkled, broken, twisted like the leaves

But still I was alive, it mattered.

I was so lost in my own thoughts that

I never noticed a new companion,

On that wobbly bench.

And for a second I felt afraid,

That it wouldn't be able to bear the weight.

My new companion was looking intently

At me from behind his glasses.

Those eyes were honey and gold,

Like the deepest shades of the autumn.

I was ready to shift away

To a place more solitary,

A place where he won't judge me.

All the scars criss crossing over me,

The broken, wrinkled youth of my existence,

And the constant rubbing of my palms.

He reached out to touch me.

I shied away in my sea of insecurities.

He drew back puzzled and stopped

His eyes were boring into me,

Seeing more than just my broken exterior.

I felt my soul calling out to him

The soul I don't show to anyone,

Unless they choose to search.

He smiled, genuine warmth radiating,

Like the fireworks of the New Year.

I stood mesmerised at the glorious sunshine.

He reached out again,

His fingers lingering over the scars.

I sat frozen,

Expecting him to run off at the ugliness.

He smiled instead

Rubbing soothing circles over my skin.

I didn't draw back this time

As I was transfixed by the innocence

The warmth spreading through me

Like the lava, an inferno was foreign to me.

And I felt my skin glowing,

The scars didn't fade but the sheen overpowered.

He smiled in satisfaction.

I realised that he was humming a tune,

An old song lost in the hubbub of the modern,

He was a whiff of nostalgia for me,

And I struggled to fathom if,

He was even real.

He seemed too wholesome to be true.

He held out his hand,

I took it surprisingly.

He stood up suddenly,

Pulling me with him.

And I was out of my eternal brooding.

"What did you do to me?" I whispered.

His lips turned up at the corners.

"Hope, that's the only light you need sometimes."

The words resonated with my soul,

Reverberating through me like,

The gong of the high bell tower.

I looked back at him with awe.

At his ethereal uniqueness but

What should I hope for?

For life, for love, for friendship, for acceptance?

I guess that question could stay for now.

As he dragged me through the dry streets,

The leaves of autumn rained around us,

The cold winter too seemed welcome,

If he would stay in my life.

We laughed and we sang,

We made silly attempts to smile,

And the winds that day wove a tale,

Of my redemption and a rediscovery,

Into the life I had isolated myself from.

I was alive again,

I was warm again and

I felt adored, admired, loved.

That's what matters at the end.

A/N Was nervous to dedicate it to you because each line here can have multiple meanings and implications but one thing is for sure, the feelings narrated in this poem are completely raw and unfiltered. I leave the interpretation to your poetic soul 😌 ManWhoReads I won't say much except a simple thank you! Already said loads 😅😜