“When I Once Dated”

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When I once dated,
the world felt lighter in my hands,
as if life took a chill
just to watch this two hearts trying to love each other.
There was a gentleness in the air back then, and
a softness that kept me warm a day long
whenever I thought of someone waiting for my message,
someone smiling because of my thought.

When I once dated,
morning tasted differently.
I would wake up with a kind of hope
that kept me believing in beautiful moments as I watched the
sunlight through a curtain,
the hum of the day just beginning,
the small thought of knowing
that somewhere, someone was thinking of me too.
Love made ordinary things glow.

I remember the steady excitement
of checking my phone and finding a new message,
how a simple “hi” could turn my whole day into a memorable day.
I remember that laughter that rose from nowhere,
but just from shared jokes, shared dreams,
and long conversations about nothing but everything.
Back then, the heart didn't ask many questions,
it simply followed its own rhythm,
trusting the warmth it felt.

When I once dated,
I learned what closeness meant.
Not just the closeness of hands rubbing,
or shared walks under slow evenings,
but the closeness of minds,
of hearts revealing themselves inch by inch.
There were moments when silence spoke louder than words,
when just sitting beside someone
felt like discovering a new country
one where I was understood.

Those days taught me gentleness.
They taught me the beauty in being vulnerable,
how letting your heart open can be scary,
yet still feel like the safest thing you’ll ever do.
It taught me that love is both gentle and brave,
a soft place that leaves you to trust,
and a strong place that teaches you to remain open,
even after storms come.

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I remember how the simplest smile
could make everything feel easier,
how disagreements didn’t wipe off feelings,
how forgiveness was naturally given
because the heart wanted to heal and not to win.
I remember having dreams shared,
imagining a great future full of expectations,
believing that love could carry us there without minding.

Even though that chapter eventually closed slowly, or maybe suddenly
it left its mark on me.
Not in bitterness,
but in the soft way memories do:
staying like the scent of dew,
or the trace of a song you once loved.
When I think of it now,
I do not feel regret,
only gratitude for what it taught me.

When I once dated,
I discovered the strength of the heart,
the deepness of its feeling,
and how it can rise again beautifully.
Love, whether it stayed or left,
shaped me,
and planted seeds of gentleness in small, quiet ways.

So even though those days are gone,
their gentleness still feels like yesterday inside me,
reminding me how I once loved,
how I once believed,
how I once shared my heart
and received someone’s heart in return.

And that, truly,
is its own kind of forever.