because you sang for me

because you sang for me,
your voice shaking from the exertion
of being afraid
of never being good enough,
of holding out your hand to grasp
something just outside your reach,
I can look back, look at you
and know in my heart
that I don't want to let you go.
because you sang for me,
I am able to wonder
if you saw me sad and
felt an honest urge to please,
or if I made you feel boxed in
and unable to choose
without the fear of disappointing,
only aiming to appease,
at risk of developing resentment.
because you sang for me,
when I glance up and see you
out of the corner of my eye,
sitting idle across the expanse between us,
I grin, not in jest, but affection,
knowing you to be a master of deflection,
but knowing I possess the power,
if necessary, to glance inside you
and glimpse your soul.