On the quiet nights, if I lay perfectly still, I can hear my own blood flowing through my veins
Surging at irregular intervals, like an ocean finding its rhythm
And I think of how far this imperfect heart has brought me
And of the little girl it contains all the love in the world for
    And how her rhythm will be flawless

The little girl that speaks to me on frequencies between life and sleep
The little girl that's waiting for me to find her the perfect mother
So she can come into this world with my eyes and her mother's hair
    The perfect blend of two imperfect people
The little girl that I will teach to use both ends of the pencil
    But to remember the shadows the eraser leaves behind
The little girl whose smile will make my day
    Whose laughter will be the highlight of my week
         And whose words will be the greatest part of my life

I think of the little girl who will enter this world by the hands of her father
And the first words ever whispered in her ear will be a prayer
    Asking God to raise her with me, so that she can rise above me
This little girl will grow up amidst music and poetry, fingerpaints and clay
This little girl will breathe and her father's chest will be filled with pride
Because at that moment, I'll know that I've done at least one good thing to this world
And this little girl will always know that it's okay to have pudding for breakfast
    As long as you're willing to share it
And this little girl will always know that her father will always love her nomatter what
    And that this poem will always be there for her
         And with it, my soul

To a daughter who is yet to come: I will never stop loving you, I will never let you fall, and I will always be there to push you higher on the swings.

For years, I imagined what you must look like
Images would flash on the back of my eyelids
     in the time it took me to blink
And as time wore on, they adopted the detail
     of a perfect figure
Line and curve, in and out
Contrasting colors in all the right places
And I became distracted by these images

Still time wore on
And I added flaws to focus
I pictured looseness and softened edges
So that I could continue to function
So that my heart would stop skipping a beat
So my breath would not be drawn so ragged
     every time I thought of you without trying

And last night, I finally saw you
In all your glory
Not in my mind, but in a room with violet lighting
And you and I shared the same air
And everything was perfect
The flaws I had superimposed
Turned out to be as imaginary
     as I thought the moment when I would find out had to be
And I felt your skin
Smooth and distracting
Nothing out of place
Line and curve exactly as they should be

And now, whenever I blink
That image of you appears in my mind
For an instant, and my heart skips a beat
Not because I imagine, but because I know
And the electricity flows from your hands into my bones
And I shudder at the memory of something so sweet
The moment we shared, so in tune
Everything followed the fantasy in my mind
And I can never imagine you with flaws
And for the rest of my days I will know how perfect your are
     in only your skin

I opened my eyes
And looked up at the rain,
And it dripped in my head
And flowed into my brain,
And all that I hear as I lie in my bed
Is the slishity-slosh of the rain in my head.

I step very softly,
I walk very slow,
I can't do a handstand--
I might overflow,
So pardon the wild crazy thing I just said--
I'm just not the same since there's rain in my head.

They undressed beneath the covers, half to stay warm and
      half to conceal themselves from the eyes of one another.
They had only done it once before, and it had been completely dark then.
      Lovers though they may be,
indulging the sense of touch
        before the sense of sight felt somehow
                less disarming.
She pulled the sheet up to her shoulders as she
        positioned herself atop his frame.
As their bodies blended and moved together,
        she was careful to not let the sheet fall.
After a few moments, she noticed him begin to chuckle.
Prepared for insult, she asked with caution,
           "What is it?"
He took a breath and whispered,
          "It looks like you're wearing a cape,"
               and they both collapsed in laughter

Call a                          doctor/ plumber/ priest
My heart is               broken/ leaking/ deceased
My life is                   worthless/ so much better/ over
I'm going to              **** myself/ tell your wife/ Dover
How could you         leave me/ not know/ lie?
I hope you                return my stuff/ come back/ die
I'll never                   forget you/ forgive you/ go away
I need                        closure/ a DNA test/ to tell you I'm gay
Your                           face/ crotch/ top of your back
Is                                so beautiful/ lumpy/ unusually slack
Your                           ex/ mother/ best friend from school
Always made me      great coffee/ feel inadequate/ drool
I will                           miss you/ **** you/ stalk you forever
That way we can      be friends/ get away with it/ be together
I'm sorry                   you did this/ I did this /we failed
I promise to               pay you/ dye it back/ get you bailed
Please don't               leave me/ show the Polaroids/ write or call

(*delete as appropriate, just delete it all.....)