I loved you before I knew you
Foolishly so
Before the broken glasses and the time spent alone
...
Give me something to say and I will
Say it without reservation
Give me something to hate and I will
Hate it
...
Suddenly and then all at once
Life became too exciting for her
Violent decrescendos clash
...
It wasn't my lie to tell
So I left you and it alone
Grasping for what little hope
...
When you decide to leave me
Leave me good
Learning to mend again
I will teach this heart
...
At 7, I wasn't meant to grow too old too fast
At 16, I wasn't meant to smoke and drink and watch my future pass
At 20, I am not meant to love and live too cavalier
Instead, I argue with oblivion and wrestle with my fears
...
How many fathers, sons, nephews,
daughters, sisters, aunts,
mothers, cousins,
friends, colleagues
...
What I Knew
I loved you before I knew you
Foolishly so
Before the broken glasses and the time spent alone
Before the breaks of the work at hand
With leftover sandwiches and orange peels
I loved you still
And after the tossing of old newspapers
And the turning of the clocks
The mid-August heat
The late December frost
I could never keep you
That much I did not know
But I knew that when I loved you
I wouldn't let you go
Life isn't about the play, but rather the score.
To be an American is to be accosted by bigotry and enmity for the rights that you were told to appreciate.