Our Story

I remember
when we were first introduced
I had no effect on you
none whatsoever
you played cool
like they named the Oscars after you
even your accidental brushes
brushed up against life
 and painted magnificent pictures
my hands were unworthy of touching
and would have damaged if they tried

You were beautiful
I was broken
tracing your grace
wishing my life could fit inside
Yet so terrified of the thought
of finding any room there for me

Beneath my closed jacket
was a t-shirt
with the word 'trepidation'
fitting tight against my chest.
In my pocket was a map
to where I buried my emotions
so deep
no animal could pick up the scent.

I kept my eyes open
I kept rest away
So I couldn't fall asleep
So I couldn't fall in love
So that nothing
 could ever catch me falling.

Then one night
a weariness took over my soul
and my hands lost the strength
to do anything but let go.
I met the danger of drowning
and that is when
my fingers found your pen
and wrapped themselves around
every thought fear avoided
I wrote and turned pages.
The ink somehow medicated
my rages.

Somewhere between the lines
I found the rhythm of time
I reasoned with its rhyme.
what I tried not to understand
what I tried
so desperately to shove
turned out to be
 what I now know
as poetry
in the calmest form of love.