Hello… I Love You.
a poem for human beings.
an average conversation with a stranger:
“hello. I Love You.”
and I’ve got nothing else to offer but cracked ribs
caged by the display of my stain-glass smile
fragile but full of faith
this is Me
a Poet dipped in Human skin
trying to believe in a theory:
words can change the world
and I want to be the kind of girl
strong enough to Love everybody in earshot
So:
“hello. I Love You.”
but I’ve got empty pockets
full of honesty and nothing tangible
nothing to hand You as collateral to promise You I mean it
so, I’ll just keep repeating it until You believe it
until it sinks in so deep
You’ll never see the icebergs creeping up
streaming through the still fogged ideas people breed
like hate doesn’t mean anything
fate crashes ships but people pull the triggers
starting wars over nothing bigger than a God complex
and I’ll bet their God is thinking:
“if you Love me, put a ring on it
because these weapons of mass murder are just destructive
stop it”
and in my empty pockets
I carry around first-aid kits for the living
in the giving shape of outstretched arms
hoping to find a cure for all harm
disarm the ripple effect of verbal missiles
and issue a state of world peace in the color of a wedding ring for Humanity
but I don’t just want to fix the broken wings on war birds
I want to heal lepers with my words
have the nerve to yawp like Walt from the rooftops of tall buildings with:
“hello. I Love You.”
but You don’t have to stand skyscrapers to the heavens to scream truth
just be You and You’ll see
that some short people wear their height so good that it shadows mountains made of stereotypes
Napoleon
was not one of these
what he was
just another kid teased for being different
and complex insecurities don’t kill
but the hate behind their birth does
while Love
at point blank range
has never killed anybody
so, tell Me that you Love Me too, already
pickup the concrete wall we all place around these 3 small words
and let your heart be heard
let the magma of emotion explode so big
we all learn how to breathe under water
see 20/20 under the safety of salty waves crashing down like the gavel of supreme courts
judging is not a state of being
it’s a choice
so let your voice speak in metrics
systematically created for universal comprehension
teach like You’ve got an encyclopedia of lessons built within Your tongue
the strongest muscle in the body
has the ability to kill or Love
so, bring hugs back like they never went out of style
and after a while it’ll hit you:
not even 12 angry men know how to convict death
why should you?
So, when you meet a stranger
start with this:
“hello. I Love You.”
But Wait… There’s More
You are Forever.
You Are Forever. Happy 50th Birthday, Bev!Dear Bev, You are foreverI’ve been trying to write this poem for weeksBut I can’t seem to find the right words to speakTo all of the missingTo express the extent of loss I feelI miss youAnd I know, I knowThis poem is 10 years...
🫶🏼 For (you). ❤️
🫶🏼 For (you). ❤️ we'll call it our cover.Let’s give this a go, yeah?Let’s meet up somewhere neither of us knows and we can just be.Let’s buy a couple of empty postcards and draw ourselves exactly as we are.Right now.We’ll call it our cover.And we’ll hold it to the...
The Delta
The Delta love is the greatest adventure.It’s cold here. But not the kind of cold that bites my skin under my hoodie, so I bear it. I grip my fingers tight together and use my breath as makeshift gloves. I have a vision of my beanie in my top left dresser drawer back...
Boston, MA
Boston, MA when you grow up nowhere and everywhere.It’s important to know that I grew up nowhere and everywhere. We moved around so much that I didn’t even know what version of myself was most authentic until I was in my early 20s. New places came with new posters and...
Wake Up
Wake Up grief is the loudest emotion.when someone diesthere is a pause in the earth's rotationas ifthe axis we all depend on forgot to keep movingas ifthe world we all inhabit forgot to set her alarm clockor maybelike the rest of uswanted to keep hitting snooze while...
Dear Xavy
Dear Xavy a letter to my unborn son.Dear Xavy (Zah-vee, short for Xavier), First, I'd like to apologize.I've tried twice now to start our family line, but both times have ended in surprise heartbreak and regret.You are already supposed to be here.I am already supposed...
Crazy Love
Crazy Love "it makes me righteous and it makes me whole"NOTE: Inspired by the song, Crazy Love. We’ll make love on the couchVan Morrison through the speakersThe hard cold of the floor against my kneesServing only to remind me of this momentWith herPassion doesn’t make...
Let this Be Us
Let this Be Us every love story is worthy of fame.Darling, do you know we’re famous?Don’t ask me how… but why.And I’ll tell you,that I’ve got spotlights in my eye-line and a little bit of you in my rear-view.I’ve seen you before.Not your person but your promise.I’ve...
Immortal Beloved
Immortal Beloved part of my book series, Netflix and Heal.It is a Thursday night, late Spring but still cold. A kind of cold that can remind you of your loneliness. Not because you forgot your hoodie and not because the friend you’re having movie night with forgot the...
Commercial Break
Commercial Break A Poem for Brandon Teenawhen i was 5i knew i wanted to grow up to be a madmana wild eyed reflection of white crazy hairwhere we all drive behind time jumping wheels requiring 1.21 gigawattsto get us anywhere but by the age of 10i'd learned betteri...
It Gets Better
It Gets Better not less hard, just better.At 11 years old, I believed in magic. Like I could catch falling stars in a mason jar, carry the construction of the Colosseum in my shirt pocket, paint a storm sky to life with daylight on dark thundering nights while...
The Moment I Realized My Heart Was a Dick, or Probably Not
The Moment I Realized My Heart Was a Dick, or Probably Not queer love in the time of social media.Crushes are a fuckerIn that way where you're shit scaredBut mostly excitedAnd I realizeThat I usually have to wait in long lines for a ride to feel like thisOn hot...
Letter to My Younger Self
Letter to My Younger Self everything seems easier when looking back.Dear Hot Mess, You don’t have the heart of an angel, stop acting like you do. It will only bring you pain. Nor do you have intentions anything less than angelic in nature. Stop being bothered by those...
Summer and Mean It
Summer and Mean It starting over in the magic of summer months.In this newfound Summer freedomWith short sleevesAnd sun-kissed skinThe hot lips of a cloudless dayAnd I remember what it’s likeTo walk hand-in-handWith someone who smilesJust because they know youJust...
Thursday Afternoon
Thursday Afternoon for the one i haven't met yetIt’s 3pmIn the overcast glow of a prolonged winterIt’s probably Spring somewhereBut not hereAnd it’s kind of perfectThe way the gray matches the painThe way the pain matches our eyesAnd we both see itAnd we both pretend...
Tuesday Evening
Tuesday Evening for the one i haven't met yetIt’s 8pmAnd I can smell Fall bloomingLooming are the orange leavesAnd everything it meansTo shed the pastShedding all that holds us backFrom being able to beginAnewAnd when I drove to work this morningWith the heater onAnd...
Sunday Night
Sunday Night for the one i haven't met yetIt’s 11pmAnd I can’t stop thinking about youAnd what it might be likeTo feel the weightOf your bodyHeavyIn truth and effortAtop all of my naked passionThe madness in the hungerThe absence of sense in the urgeMakes the...
The Undoing of I Do
The Undoing of I Do ...but what about love?“Marriage equality also means divorce equality,” but what about love? It’s a fact that 41% of first-time marriages end in divorce. And I remember sitting on the sidelines, on the side of the stage, somebody important was...
Call Cut
Call Cut just another love poem.you wear love on your sleeve the way they used toin black and white and dramatic celluloidand we kissto the sound of remixed Mozartand renovated Beethovenbut nobody really caresand wewellwe're not really listeningeitherwe're too...
My Name is They
My Name is They what's gender anyway?When we talkWe all speak in genderFluent from the tongueAre the soft pinks of She'sAnd the militant blues of HisPronouns never had a choice My voice is a sirBigger than my courage will ever give me credit forBut I can't afford to...
You Did NOT Die Today
You Did Not Die Today January 11, 2016It’s after midnight now.On January 11th, 2016. You did not die today. And I feel like a total weirdo. Sitting here by myself, sobbing uncontrollably over you. Sobbing uncontrollably over someone that I do not know. And then,...