Love crept quietly

Love crept quietly,

unannounced,

unnoticed.

I was too busy,

a boy becoming a man,

a man becoming a father,

a father learning painful lessons.

Love crept quietly,

invading a thought or two,

peace before my sad anxieties.

Struggling,

working,

trying oh so hard

to prove myself,

until the fall of my efforts

left me alone.

Love crept quietly,

now no efforts of mine,

to build a barrier,

a barrier of self,

a barrier where I could measure

whatever I was hoping to be.

Love crept quietly,

until there was nothing left

but

love creeping quietly.