Mystery Girl (Part Ii) Poem by Daniel Chapman

Am I lonely… or just learning myself?
Are these the cards I was meant to be dealt?
Maybe love isn't lost—just waiting somewhere
For the moment my heart is ready to feel.

I still believe in that spark, that gentle flame,
The kind that warms you without needing a name.
And maybe cloud nine isn't something you chase,
Maybe it finds you when you finally slow your pace.

I used to ask when my turn would arrive,
When I'd find the one and call her "my life."
She still drifts through my thoughts from time to time,
Not as a wound now—more like a sign.

I'm no longer searching every face in the crowd,
No longer shouting my hope out loud.
If love is unconditional, I trust it will be,
Not forced, not chased—but meant for me.

I used to call out and hear only my echo,
Now I listen in silence and let the answers grow.
When love comes, I won't grip it in fear,
I'll hold it with trust, knowing it's here.

I sit in this quiet place, pen in my hand,
Finding small joys in the life I didn't plan.
Happiness still visits, even dressed in sadness,
Teaching me peace inside the mess of it.

I thought I'd be married by now, wealthy and set,
But dreams evolve—and I'm not done yet.
Fairy tales bend in this imperfect land,
But purpose still meets you where you stand.

So I won't give up, and I won't pretend,
I'll keep becoming the man love deserves in the end.
Until that day comes—soft, true, and won—
I'll keep my heart open…
And let life finish what it's begun.

Daniel Chapman