You

Do you know why I loved you?
It took me this long to realize it.
I loved you because you were and still are the only truly authentic person I've ever met: unhindered and unfettered by anything or anyone.
That''s why you were so damn magnetic,
so compelling to me.
My life was a fog, a perpetual haze of confusion
but your personal truth cut through all that.
I was a moth
drawn to your inner light.
Everyone I know. Everyone
wears masks. Lord knows I wear layers and
layers
and layers
of them.
Sometimes I forget what my own face looks like underneath them.
You didn't give a shit about my mask or anyone else's, because you wore none.

I never knew what to expect from you. Do you know how rare it is--

 to find someone who burns so brightly I could not look away?

You were alive; a true liv-er and lover of life.



All this time later, I want to thank you.
Your truth, your total acceptance of both yourself and I was a cool,
refreshing bath
after I was lost in the desert for so long.