Love poem: Ballerina recital love
You’re so small, you fit into my arms
Fall asleep to the sound of my voice
Trembling, quiet, thunder, softness
Everything I am proud of, not so much on display
Still shy
After all these years,
Still so shy
Still so shy
You’re like a riverbed I watch beneath the moonlight, the stars
The craters on other planets that I know you’ve traveled to
Brown eyes, those deep brown eyes, I could
Find myself in lilac fevers forever and all the time
We talk about the Midwest and how it’s the best
And you stay true to your word, yes you surely do
Call me late at night even though you know I’m busy tending to my garden, having family time, drinking too much wine,
Leave a voicemail every single time
Yeah, I’m in love with that
Because I wake up in the morning, early, not-yet-bright morning, and I call you right back
A thousand times over, crimson clover all over
Fall asleep in my bed to my voice
The stillness
Lilac fever dreams
Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, all for you, always for you
I’ll play the flute
I don’t even know what to do
I don’t even know what to do
Love poem: Ballerina recital love (continued)
You’re no good at planning things, so I take over
Would you rather leave on a Tuesday or a Wednesday?
For me, it’s always a Wednesday
Favourite day of the week
It speaks to me like something holy, something so enchanting I can’t really tie it up in little knots like your little socks, like your fragrant apricots
A wedding we didn’t attend because we overslept
Laughed the entire weekend, recreated what we thought it’d be like
I was so mad, oh, so mad
There’s nothing I’d rather do than go to a wedding
There’s nothing I’d rather do than go to a wedding
But none of my friends are getting married
Our first fight
We laughed at intervals
I have this deep pink nail colour painted on, with ‘Cat’s Eye’ print
Charming but not revolting like absinthe
The prettiest bottle that I saw in the store, had no idea what the stuff was, didn’t buy it
Am so careful with the few dollars I possess
Then you had me, like candy, pass me a water bottle because I am thirsty in this exhausting heat
It’s melting me
Driving me to insanity
You drive all the time towards me, my direction, my deflection, away from me because I want the spotlight on you
Shining, glimmering, frosting, ice cream birthday cake
Your birthday is in March, and I am
Planning
Already
For how we’re going to celebrate
Ice cream birthday cake
DIY bday present because after all of this give-and-take
I want nothing more than to give you the best day you’ve ever had
Ill-fated farmer’s tan
Fresh farmer’s market apricots
Yours if you’ll be mine
Too late, too late
Love poem: Ballerina recital love (continued)
You asked me out on a Tuesday
I don’t like Tuesdays
I like them now
I’ll celebrate every Tuesday now
One week
Two weeks
Three weeks
Four
Monthiversary, the kind no man ever wanted to celebrate with me
Except one
But he
Ran
Farther than I could ever reach
Was so distant when specifically next to me
I couldn’t figure out what he was saying, so I paid really close attention in my sleep
I thank whoever’s watching me that the relationship escaped from underneath me
Found my favourite album that year
One of them, at least, but certainly my favourite song of the band’s
That’s the best part of that
You buying me different shades of brown lip gloss
Cookie butter, cappuccino, espresso for sure, on a Tuesday, every Tuesday
I’ll be there, listening to your voicemails
Calling you back in the morning
Crimson clover all over, what are we going to do in December
Love poem: Ballerina recital love (continued)
When it’s going to be so cold
It’ll rain
It’ll snow
I’m counting not the weeks down, but the days
To hold you
So close
Make sure you know that you’re mine
I’m yours
On purpose and by accident
Total ballerina recital, no tragedy
Involved in the way your ship collided with my stupid little boat
