Johneta Ohler Poet Spoken Word

While You Learn to Breathe

I know what it means to be afraid of love ,
to flinch when something feels too close,
too real,
too much like home.

So I stay patient with you,
not because I’m waiting for you to change,
but because something in my soul
recognises something in yours—
a quiet ache that only understanding can soothe.

I see the way your heart hides behind caution,
how your hands almost reach for mine
before you remember what it felt like
to lose someone you loved too much.

You are the only one I think about,
the only one I want beside me
when the night feels heavy.
I don’t need to claim you,
I just want to keep choosing you,
again and again,
until your fear learns
that love doesn’t mean losing yourself,
and I’m not here to take your freedom;
I’m here to breathe beside it.


I don’t need promises,
don’t need labels,
don’t need a map of where this goes.
I just need you to know
that I’m here,
that I won’t run when fear speaks louder than love,
that I’ll hold space for you
until your fear softens enough
to let love in.


So take your time, love.
I’m not going anywhere.
You’re already mine in every way that matters,
and I’ll be patient,
for as long as it takes
for your heart to stop fighting
the very thing it’s been searching for.

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