I tried to find something good enough,

But let me tell you—it was tough.

I’d been to every store I could find,

Yet nothing matched what I had in mind.

A gift sweeter than sugar,

A gift more precious than gold,

A gift that could last forever—

And soon enough, lo and behold,

It was more beautiful than I’d been told.

The very first gift you gave to me,

I’ll give back more than I ever received.

A gift as vast as the ocean,

With depths no eye could ever see.

A gift the world would call massive,

Yet somehow, it fit inside of me.

And the more that it grew,

The lighter my spirit felt.

And I would willingly carry it

Until the day I take my final breath.

They may call it a weight upon the shoulders,

Or a bed of roses,

A journey stretching from the first light of good

To the farthest edge of bad.

But to me,

It is the greatest relief

I could ever receive.

I will forever be grateful

That I was able to witness this—

To exist in the same timeline as you.

It would be selfish to keep you to myself,

Yet I would risk my existence if I ever let you go,

For I fear I would lose myself without you.

So, for as long as I live,

I’ll keep giving you gifts—

Each one deeper,

Sweeter,

Kinder than the last.

And though I know these gifts

May someday outlive me,

I’ll still be joyful

Knowing I was able to give them to you.

So every now and then,

I whisper to my heart:

Who would have known

That I had the perfect gift from the very start?