i was 7 when i learned
what a cemetery was
we were walking through
the number of headstones
with names and dates
written upon them

i asked my father
what this place was
he grabbed my hand
that felt so small in his
he looked down at me with his hazel eyes
and said
it's where people go
when their time with us is up

i looked around
at the dozens of stones
and asked
how many are there?
he said
i haven't counted
so i said
that
someone should

my mother told me i was supposed to be born in late june
but i wasn't born until the first week of july
"you jus' didn't wanna come out"
she always tells me
and laughs
it turns out she was right
i never wanted to be
under those fluorescent lights
in the hospital
hearing chatter of doctors
and the beeping of machines
because i probably knew that one day i would be there again
but for the complete opposite reason
that i already was

when a poet falls in love with you
you can never die
they will notice the way
you rub your palms and look down
when someone is angry at you
and the way you smirk
as you pull away from a kiss

they will notice how you can't sleep
without your body touching someone else's
how you never crease any pages of books
and how you close your eyes when you dance in your kitchen
with your record player on

they will find all of the words
that they see you as
and turn them into something beautiful

people say you die twice
once when you stop breathing
and when someone says your name
for the last time

if you fall in love with a poet
they will never stop
mentioning your name
you will be alive
for eternity