I’ve learned to be playful
so
playful
I would be as playful with you
as the dancing sounds
these words make as they
drop
drop
drop
from my mouth
to this paper thin, glass sheet of cadence
Sometimes they stick
flattened out like
g     u      m
trod on by years of
cheap dress shoes
marching the weary feet they house
into another cut-out day
in the same square building
Sometimes they bounce
tink
tink
tink
across the surface
creating their own beauty
seemingly without need for my pen

I’ve learned to be gentle
so
gentle
I would be as gentle with you
as the soft brush
of what is written
against what is meant
So carefully touching
that only tangent we come
one point being
all I need

I’ve learned to be nurturing
so
nurturing
I would be as nurturing with you
as the warm, damp soil
to the seed
as the sharp, prepared mind
to the idea
Giving structure
setting tones
I could be the time
in which you bloom
again
Just for this springtime
I will be springtime