Safety

Marissa Justice

With you,
My mind quiets.
Like the hush before the storm,
But the storm never comes.

You bring a stillness
No one else ever could.
When your hand finds mine,
I’m no longer watching every shadow,
Listening for footsteps,
Checking corners,
Reading exits.

I don’t scan the room.
I don’t brace for impact.
I don’t live in the worst case.

I just breathe.

The world outside
Is loud, fast, and unforgiving.
I walk through it
On edge, on guard,
Shoulders tight with what-ifs.
But with you,
I don’t have to be ready for everything.
Because you are.

You are next to me,
And somehow,
That makes everything quieter.

The world doesn’t soften often,
But you carry calm like it’s stitched into your spine.
You walk with strength that doesn’t shout.
A steady presence
That tells the world
“Not here, not her.”

You are a shield
I never have to ask for.
A quiet force
That lets me
Put mine down. 

And so, the alarms go still.
The weight I didn't know I carried lifts.
And for the first time in forever,
I am not alert,
I am not tense,
Not scanning for danger.

I am safe.

With you, I am not just surviving the day,
I am in it.
I am present.
I am whole.

Because you are my safety,
You are my home.
You are where my body
Finally relaxes.

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Marissa Justice
Marissa Justice is a mother to a wonderful daughter. She is Nebraska born, Texas raised. She has her Bachelor of Arts in American Literature and is a member of the military. Marissa fell in love with poetry while taking creative non-fiction classes, learning her writing style was lyrical, and she leaned into the poetry and prose genre. She has been writing poetry for years now in her free time.