A Bond Too Precious to Break

Beneath the shadowed canopy of friendship’s sacred thread,

I stand, a man with tethered heart, by fears and hopes half-fed.

Her laughter weaves through twilight air, her voice—a summer breeze,

While I, a silent wolf, retreat, my longing on its knees.

Her eyes, two stars that know no chain, so boundless, wild, and free,

I fear my heart, if loosed, would build a cage she couldn’t see.

For love, to me, is not the bloom that gardens often show,

But roots that twist in jealous soil, in shadows where I grow.

What if I speak? What if I bare the fire within my chest?

Would she recoil, her wings unbound, forsaking all the rest?

This bond we share, this fragile bridge, holds all my joy, my peace,

Yet words unsaid burn louder still, their ache will not release.

As wolves will kill to guard their lands, to mark what they hold dear,

I’d fight for her with sharpened claws, through blood, through pain, through fear.

But love’s not war, and she’s no prize, no territory gained—

To hold her close could tear her free, and leave us both in pain.

She does not know the wolf in me, how fiercely I defend,

How love, to me, means territory I’d guard until the end.

Her spirit, wild as mountain winds, deserves the open skies,

While I, the wolf, would chase her down and bind her where she flies.

But when she laughs with others, it ignites a flame,

The wolf awakens, wild, unchained.

Its instincts roar to shield, to claim,

Yet I am bound by this silent pain.

She is not mine, and I must refrain,

For to act would bring her hurt, not gain.

So I cage the beast, let it howl and die,

And watch her soar where my wings can’t fly.

This war within—a love I crave yet fear I’ll bring her pain,

To hold her close yet see her soar, to lose her or remain.

Her world is vast, her laughter wide, while mine feels tight and small,

I’m just a wolf who dreams of skies yet howls within his wall.

I sacrificed her once; I will do it again,

And a thousand times more, to spare her pain.

For her joy is worth the wounds I keep,

A love that bleeds but dares not weep.

Yet when she calls, when she needs my care,

I’ll be her shadow, always there.

I’ll slay the wolf, my truth I’ll hide,

To stand beside her, though I die inside.

So here I stand, my love untold, my silence bittersweet,

For friendship’s ground is solid stone beneath uncertain feet.

And though my heart may bleed for her, though love’s claws tear me through,

I’d rather guard the bond we’ve built than crush it with “I do.”

For what am I, if not the wolf who’d die for what he keeps?

A shadow guarding sacred lands, awake while she still sleeps.

Her freedom is her essence, pure—a thing I must protect,

Though my heart aches, I step aside, her choice I must respect.

And if one day, she looks my way, her eyes a gentle plea,

I’ll bare my soul, my fragile heart—but till then, I let it be.

For love, I’ve learned, is not the chain that binds a spirit’s flight,

But the strength to stand in quiet pain and love her from the night.