We didn’t know your name
Only the sound of a knock
In a hallway where promises
Usually stopped
We’d learned to hide
From hands reaching in
But something about you
Felt different than them
When we first met
I hid behind a couch
My brother sat still
In a chair, eyes out
We didn’t know what you wanted
Didn’t know what to believe
But something inside us
Didn’t want to leave
Five years old and already tired
Eight years old holding back the fire
Rooms that echoed goodbye too fast
We didn’t believe that love could last
Then you knelt down
Soft but strong
Like you had known us
All along
You didn’t rush
You didn’t press
You let the silence
Do the rest
And for the first time
Fear stepped aside
Just enough
To let in light
You were the day hope opened the door
The moment the world felt different than before
We didn’t know what forever meant
When you asked if we’d be yours
You didn’t tell us
You gave us a choice
And two small boys
Found their voice
We said yes.
Two small hearts in a backseat ride
Leaving yesterday behind
Didn’t know what we would find
But we chose you
And you chose us
And that was enough
To trust
You didn’t see broken boys
You saw sons beneath the noise
Past the anger, past the scars
Past the walls and iron bars
You gave us dinners
You gave us light
Beds that stayed every night
Rules and grace in equal parts
You built a home inside our hearts
Brick by brick
You let us see
What a family could be
We didn’t know how to trust
Only how to brace
But you stayed patient
Gave love its space
And slowly
The walls came down
Without a sound
You were the day hope opened the door
The answer to prayers we’d never prayed before
We didn’t know what forever meant
But when you asked us, we said yes
From strangers into family
From surviving into destiny
You didn’t just choose us
You let us choose you
We were two boys already worn
Learning how to be reborn
And when we hid
You stayed near
When we doubted
You were here
If five-year-old me could see
The man I grew to be
He’d look at you
With certainty
Because love isn’t loud
It’s steady and strong
It stays when everything
Else is gone
That day in that car
With fear in our chest
We drove toward a life
That would be our best
You weren’t just someone
Who signed a page
You were the moment
Our lives were changed
We didn’t know what to expect
Didn’t know what was ahead
But you asked.
And we said yes.
And that was the first brave thing
We ever did.
Because you were waiting.