who's to say

                   You gave of touch
                   and promised moments,
                   (more than time)
                   as grace allowed.
                   I gave a kiss
                   and of the words I hadn't learned
                   I'd find them all (somehow).
                   You gave me silence
                   held in treasure;
                   the stillness of a sigh.
                   I gave you breath
                   was once so easy;
                   lifetimes passed
                   (yet here am I).

                   You gave me pause,
                   pushed my mind
                   to question without end;
                   to find the worth
                   in wonder - the light
                   where light began.
                   I gave you faith
                   o'er every mountain
                   standing in your way;
                   saw you stronger
                   than you might have been
                   (but who's to say).

                   You gave me blue
                   to sail the night,
                   steel to skate a frozen pond.
                   I gave you red,
                   poppies (slept) beneath
                   a noonday sun.
                   For every star you traced
                   (in locks)
                   beneath a stand of pines,
                   you gave me paths
                   of mystery,
                   were truths (already mine).

                   You gave me love
                   would reach beyond
                   what promise we might hold
                   (til then).
                   I gave you love
                   was never yours to choose
                   (it has no end).
                   You gave me more
                   than I could tell;
                   much more than words
                   (as these) can show -

                   a will to write,
                   a place to fall,
                   a calm to still
                   my soul.