see i met you
with white and blue
around your eyes
some others finger tips
the same two colors
and they weren’t
perfect
and neither were you
but neither was i
or that day
or how the tallest building
stood in the way of the sun
but it found a way to
your eyes
and i had a flower
to give, from another
who gave it away
this orange one
(never been much good
with remembering flowers)
only easy simple beauty
and it was minutes past noon
music had yet to
make a note
the sky was
a shade of blue
faces everywhere
shoes clothes tattoos
wide brim southern california
hats crop top purses
a blue darker
than the sky
held gently to her
hand-me-down thighs
and came back in
to kiss her waist
for being simple
her torso was
drawn by a composer
who swung his arms
back in
with purpose
though also precision
and allowed his motions
to drift
outwards
because it was
beautiful
and
the sound that came
from a swing of
his limbs
and the lift of a brow
and a careful
but not careful
but never too careful
smile
so the 14th chair
trumpet
knows she played the
note right
and
she doesn’t have
to celebrate by
herself
and its her shoulders
holding
invisible weight
but weight nonetheless
the weight of
ten thousand moments
and
nine thousand insecurities
and
eight thousand mistakes
and
seven thousand thoughts
about her mother
and
six about her father
and
five each for her sisters
and
four minutes until
walk the moon
and
three selfies
because it takes that many
and
two shots of
whatever ***** was cheap enough
last night
and
one flower
(and im sorry i dont
remember the name of it)
but its for you
and they told me
to tell the next person
to enjoy it while its theirs
and breathe in with
their eyes closed
to touch softly
and wildly
and place it behind
their right ear
no, their left ear
and encourage others
to stop
and smell the roses
(and im aware it wasn’t
a rose that i gave you)
but i was hoping
you’d find
some sort of appreciation
maybe in a petal
or the greener stem
or maybe the fact
that some guy
just gave you a flower
and offered
a hand
which you met with yours
and helped you
step out
of your head
and
he was there
to catch you
because its a big step
and you didn’t know him
but you trusted
and his arms weren’t that muscular
but you felt them
and time wasn’t being taken from you
you
took the time
to enjoy the beauty of life
with a flower
in your right,
no, sorry left ear
(and i never was much good
at remembering flowers)