I may be a little rougher
than all those other girls:
skipping stones instead of gluing sparkles
rib-cracking laugh instead of lipstick smiles
tree climbing scrapes instead of hair curler burns —
but I’m softer than all of them.

I am your little avocado
dark skin cynicism and hardened core
but really I’m just as easily bruised

So, Sweet Smiled Serendipity,
please remember to kiss my cheek
      my nose
          my finger tips
when we lie together in a blanket of 2am sweat
because even after a night like that
I am more fragile than you’ll ever know.

Lover, I only want your love now
And now
And now
And now
And now
And now
And now
And now
∞

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way

than this: where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

and this drought has
lasted long enough
for the crops to wither
and my stomach to swell.

or Redheads.
Crimson Irish curls
that cling to curves
like my lips cling to
your name.
Natural.

if you could hold me in
like burning dawn
on the tips of fall mornings
i would scratch our names
into my bark

i would lean over children
that looked like you, baby
sew my leaves to their jackets
so they would always smell
like fresh dew on a misty morning

water my roots and trim
the thorn bushes i've collected
a dress swathing hips
that are barer than deserts

and if i sing this song now
would you come to me in honest
or like schoolyard jokes
will you kiss my fingers only in jest
i'm a simple plant i need only
sunshine and damp dirt

bare bones lapping up nutrients
a stolen kiss over dinner
a bath that is not lonely
a hand to be held
on afternoons in the city
two people staring in rapture at each other
in the black subway windows

this is the first of "I love you"s
where it's felt like breathing.
with my parents, it's always been awkward,
forced.
(even though I love them more than I will ever say)
with him, there was no chance,
(he could never love me, his heart was too small)
with him, I wanted to cry,
(I didn't mean it, I never did)
but you.
I want to say it, all the time.
everyday.
the three words,
I can sing.
shout.
scream.
with no hesitance. no doubts.
just your voice in my mind.