the shadow picks
a nice path on your face;

across planes,
                        in wells
I never drank from,
                        on a pink bud
from which I stole
sugar
        instead
of
tasting.

Where words slipped
I thieved, not
                       kissed.

shadow hovers
as a bee
             searching
for pollen
in darkness.

It loves all
the places
                I missed

because

I substituted French phrases for
your limbs;
spoke to your
light
in a language I didn't quite
know yet

but

sounded
         like
              like
the poetry found

in light's absence.

A harbor town, just like this one, swept up in fog
the seagulls, ghosts emerging from the skies

the river glistens soft & wide,
the Cranes for now are sleeping giants

he kisses her, the anxious gun pressed tight
against his hand in his pocket

he is a dock worker
she is a seamstress

they're a black & white film
because technicolor here is impossible

he is you & she is me
we speak only in French

the kids on the block
will get you the next day.

you climb a tree, right to the top
the tree took years to reach those nauseating heights
energy, commitment, obstinateness to make it
and you, the one with the selfish gene, climb up it
cutting out all the hard work
and I can't blame you, for I have done it too

tu montes à un arbre, jusqu'à la cime
l'arbre a passé des années à arriver à cette hauteur écoeurante
l'énergie, l'engagement, l'obstination pour réussir
et toi, celui avec le gène égoïste, tu montes
en passant tout le travail dur
et je ne te reproche pas de le faire, car je l'ai fait aussi

What great pleasure it is
to not have to figure out
if the tuna sandwich is a boy or girl
before it becomes a part of me.

I don't have to wonder
if the tasty adjectives I'm going to use
to glorify it will need to multiply
or even worse, change sexuality,
if I decide to have more than one

This afternoon, I'm trying to find
the appropriate tense to describe
how the wind whistled
over the empty plastic cup last night,
startling the old dog
and setting the cat's ears twitching
But then I remember, I don't even know
the word for "whistle" in French

But I wish someone were here
to bring good tidings to my appetite
and perhaps bid my footsteps well
when I get up to take the 10 minute walk
back to the house
where the smell of freshly baked croissants
have soaked into the walls

At least I know they're filled with yellow cheese
and this time I remember
one of the first words I learned
in this intricate language I'm wrestling
is fromage.

la dame nature n'hésite pas
la dame nature ne prend pas de décisions
la dame nature n'a pas de maître
la dame nature n'a pas besoin d'émotions
la dame nature ne suit pas les règles
mais la dame nature est délicate et amiable
et je suis la dame nature
pour qu'elle devienne quelque chose d'autre

I hate causing you pain
My old friend
I can’t seem to think straight
Nothing can help, I’m insane
I don’t want to hurt you
I don’t want to hurt
Is it better to pretend nothing happened?
Or should we never speak again?
I have no idea, but I know I can’t do this anymore
I don’t know how to look at you
Without an aching in my heart
So I must say ado.

I heard it said that life comes and goes
It passes in an instant like a wilting rose
I’m told that time makes light of our woes
Wears them like a gown Our sorrows to expose

Yet someone told me that you still loved me
Yea someone told me that you still loved me
Is it possibly true?

I’ve heard it said that destiny is quite cruel
It promises the world and laughs at ridicule
Think it’s in your hands, that you’ve got it made
But look again you’re wrong, you’re just a fool

Yet someone told me that you still loved me
Yea someone told me that you still loved me
Is it possibly true?

Who told me that you loved me I don’t know
Wish I could remember, but the face is gone
I’m left with a whisper in my ear
“He says he loves you, please don’t let him hear”

Yet someone told me that you still loved me
Yea someone told me that you still loved me
Is it possibly true?

I heard it said that life comes and goes
It passes in an instant like a wilting rose
I’m told that time makes light of our woes
Wears them like a gown Our sorrows to expose

Yet someone told me that you still loved me
Yea someone told me that you still loved me
Is it possibly true?