there wasn't something
but there also
wasn't nothing

and now the gates to my heart have flown open

I turned your letter away from me
I can no longer see the content.
All I have
Is a shell of your words
That I hope
to throw out
some day

Your sentence
Meant
The world
To me...
                                      
                    ­                 Yet it
                                     Was said
                                     So long ago

I know
I’m not supposed to
Cling to the past
But I can’t
Get ahold
Of the present

Sit in the back seat of the taxi
Keep your legs crossed
Or if you have to walk at night
Eyes stay wide, don’t get lost
Have 911 at the ready
Keys between your fingers
Walk fast, move quickly
It is best not to linger
Make sure you know where to aim
The eyes, crotch, and nose
When they shout
foul things at you
Keep walking, you know
where to go

Zip up that jacket
Tug down that skirt
For you are a woman on the street
Stay safe, and stay alert

You have no idea
How simple
It is to make my day

Perhaps you’ll ask me
Where something is
Or tell me when I ask

Perhaps you won’t sit
As far away from me

Maybe you’ll even
Sit close

Perhaps you will open
The circle a little wider
So there’s room for me to stand

Perhaps you’ll just look at me
Not over my shoulder
So our eyes catch
Our selves joined
For just a millisecond

Or perhaps
Best of all
You’ll smile
At me
(Not her, nor him)

And I will smile back