The Stranger I Always Knew

I sat on the bench, seeking peace at the park,
When a stranger sat beside me in silence,
We shared the same space, exchanged curious glances,
Both wearing shirts with words that whispered the same truth,
Our shirts spoke of broken hearts seeking love again,
Of souls worn from battles but still standing strong,
In her eyes, I saw reflections of my own story,
In that quiet moment, she was no longer a stranger,
She was someone whose pain I recognized without knowing her name,
She became the stranger I always knew,

We became fast friends after that evening’s encounter,
Her laugh became the music that brightened my days,
Her wisdom was a lantern, guiding me through my doubts,
Yet she kept something hidden, a part of her locked away,
She never told me her name, insisted I called her Stranger,
As if the distance between us was her way of protecting herself,
I gave her my stories, my thoughts, my world,
But she never gave me her heart, never crossed that line,
Even in the light of her presence, she chose to stay in the dark,
She remained the stranger I always knew,

I stood before her, my heart fully open and bare,
I asked her to trust me with her deepest dreams,
To let me be the guardian of her heart’s fragile hope,
I wanted her to be more than a fleeting moment,
More than a mystery I could never unravel,
But with a gentle shake of her head and a soft smile,
She told me, “You are the stranger I always knew,”
Her words sank deep, pulling the distance back between us,
I was close, yet never close enough to reach her heart,
She remained the stranger I always knew,

The day of her wedding came, white and filled with joy,
The room bloomed with flowers, and happiness filled the air,
I watched from the back, my heart heavy yet calm,
As she walked down the aisle, radiant in her dress,
She smiled brighter than anyone, glowing with love,
But not the love I had hoped for her to share with me,
She had found someone who touched the place I never could,
A lover who knew her in ways I was never allowed to,
And in that moment, I realized she had found her home,
A home where she remained the stranger I always knew,

She found the lover who eased into her soul,
Someone who crumbled the walls she never let me near,
She learned to trust, to give, to surrender her heart,
To someone who earned the love she had guarded for so long,
I was happy for her, but still, there was a quiet ache,
For I was still searching, still looking for my own love,
Still hoping for someone who would look at me as she once did,
A lover who would let me inside the fortress of her heart,
I longed to be the knight of someone’s hidden world,
As I longed for that of the stranger I always knew,

I still walk through the days, a search lingering within,
Hoping to find a love that will recognize me,
A love that will trust, that will open without hesitation,
A heart that will meet mine with the same yearning I carry,
For the woman I met that evening at the park,
The woman who shared my bench, my silence, my gaze,
Will always be a memory of what might have been,
A story that began but never unfolded,
And even though she is now a wife, a lover to someone else,
She will always be the stranger I always knew.