I thought I had missed it—
the chance,
the timing,
the right version of me.
I thought I needed
to be more certain,
more steady,
less flawed.
But when I turned back,
nothing resisted.
No locked gates,
no echo of “too late.”
Just the quiet welcome
of something
that had been open
the whole time.
The doors
were never closed.
Only my heart
forgot
how to knock.