it began with her eyes, green like the trees
outside 72nd and broadway.
she asked me for the time in verdi square,
but seconds felt like hours the way she caught me.
it began when my heart broke for the 7th time (i’m tired
of trying to put it back together,
i may just leave it a mess for someone else to fix this time).

it began with her kissing my nose.
it began with the way she says my name
(my tastebuds are filled to the brim with her).
it began with a crease in her lips, she smiles
like the moon (maybe i can be her sun).
it began with her breath in my lungs.
it began when her eyelashes strung together
like a violin, and every time she blinks, i swear i
hear “all of the lights” (it’s dark in here and
i’m scared that sometime soon i’ll find a light).

it began the moment i saw her.
it began the moment i told her i loved her.