Love, Once Too Deep

I loved once—too deeply, too wide,
Like the ocean kissing the restless tide.
I gave my heart, unchained, untamed,
And now it beats, but not the same.

I built a home in someone's eyes,
Lit it with hope, with stars, with skies.
But flames can flicker, fade, and die,
Leaving only smoke to cloud the mind.

Now love knocks, soft at my door,
But I do not open like before. I fear the fall,
the weight, the ache,
The price my soul once dared to take.

So I hold back, I stay restrained,
No more wild hearts left to be claimed.
For what if I love and lose again?
What if the echoes call your name?

I do not wish to love like that,
To lose myself and not look back.
So I will stay—half-open, free,
Loving less… to shelter me.