06 February 2015 "Kisses"

It was surreal the first time.

I barely remember what it felt like

to want something so desperately.

In a young imagination

anything is possible

in a young memory

sensory details become powerful.

Today I don’t remember if his lips were soft

in fact, the only lips I remember

are the ones that were dry as the roof of my mouth

What I do remember about him is

that he walked out sometime that morning

when the clouds weren’t yet illuminated enough

to wake me through the windows.

So many times have I assumed

someone didn’t care that

it took me almost a year to realize

the one who loves you isn’t the one

who says so,

it’s the one who stays.

And so many times have I assumed

someone wasn’t perfect enough that

it took someone leaving forever

to remember the times I didn’t stand up

for them

(and to remember the times they stood up

for me)

I’ve always been so caught up

in my own crowded mind that

I left room for no one else and

It’s taken the fragility of an un-promised

relationship to finally realize

no one is perfect but

someone is always here.