Understanding

There are things
I no longer wish to understand.

In first grade, I was teased for
bringing rice and beans when
the other kids had PB&J.
The next year we talked about
Martin Luther King Jr. and
I realized, “Mommy! I figured out what Daddy is!
He’s a black man!”
I understand that people see us differently now.

I wish I didn’t know
just how far
my sadness could go.

Knowing how easily
your heart can be broken
is something you cannot
come back from.

There was a time when
I didn’t understand trigonometry,
and I still don’t.

And, there was a time
that I never wanted to grow up…
I can’t say that has changed.

I learned to understand that
no matter what life throws at you,
you will survive.

So, You Want Me To Love You?

So, you want me to love you.
You could ask a crowd how to win me over,
but who would know, but me?

Write me a poem,
but it better be good.
I don’t want what’s been said,
or anything to dread.

Can you play the guitar?
Oh, the lines you could sing!
That certainly deserves a bronze star.

Will you kiss me so softly?
like no one before?
Please, it’s not costly, what I might ask for.

Please, just one rule is sure,
don’t bother asking anyone else
before me.

If you want me to love you,
and if you believe in true love,
then I’ll call us a taxi if you’ll show.

Love poem (to no one)

I could say you look like flowers
and smell like a masterpiece
but that's all been said before.
I want you to feel special
like no love has ever existed before you
because it's true.
You are lovelier than even the
softest petal of any rose
for no creases diminish your beauty
You smell like fresh baked cookies
that only your mom can make-
like home.
I could say the same clichés over and over -

but no words come close to
describing that you make me feel
like my every hair is on fire with a
feeling of right.

Merely Reading

Who lets there couch cushion their fall
on rainy days?
When water darts across the street,
full of secrets,
slick with misery.

                                        Curl into yourself.
                                Let the musty aroma
                                overwhelm you
                        fogging up your noes
                 letting your mind
        fill with words
your body floating to never land.

Merely reading to read isn´t reading.
Live in the faraway lands -
live to shake hands with those who hold the key.

Perhaps,
winds will smack against your face as you run, run away,
your dress mocking the sun with its colors flowing around your waist.
Watch out.
There cries a silent hand, a plea for forgiveness.
The weight of the decision you don't have to make.

Where you are:
it is just a rainy day.
If only this feeling could stick.

Being Enchanted

the feeling after the last page
fuzziness where well-defined edges may have once been
think, yellow stars
not quite walking, not quite floating

You aren't always aware-
in the moment-
that you are being enchanted.

Magic is being transferred,
everyone deserves a slice.

magic is knowing that loves can crash
because there is one out there, yet
magic is believing in yourself.
magic pushes you

that first page will wait for you again.
Read again. Try again. Dream

Because of You

Rising up because
of the heat filling your chest—
Rising up because
Notice me.
Rising up to
better stand to see you.
I want to know
what your eyes are seeing.

What words do you read?
Which sunsets have you watched?
Are you seeing me?

Rising up because
my body cannot seem
to contain this feeling.
Rising up.