Begin in teenage years.
Date a girl for several days.
Break up. This was not love. Search
Without looking. That is to say, do not
Search with your open eyes, but with your
Open heart. Open your heart wide, wide enough
For people to get in, for people to stay in.
Get hurt. Love does not come cheap.
Continue through high school. Find a girl
And date her for two of your four years. Date her,
On a whim, and fall for her. In fits of passion and lust,
Make love to her clumsily, it being both of your firsts.
When you lie in bed, skin on skin, whisper to her. Tell her
You love her. Tell her how you found her, how you
Opened your heart and she flew right in, like a
Dove. A dove with talons. Later, give her terrible words,
Something akin to “we need to talk.” Break
Her heart. Feel sorry for hurting her, but regret
Nothing. Or don’t. Receive terrible words,
Something akin to “it’s not you, it’s me.” Have her
Break your heart, knowing they are just words,
And it was you all along.
This was not love.
In your escapades following your separation,
Find amazing friends, friends that help you
Open your heart once again. Friends that climb in
And make your heart their home. Fall for one of them.
She is beautiful in every way, you tell her. Love her
Through everything and anything. Have her
For a short time. You fell for her more
Than anyone in the past. More than that girl
Who was your first.
Lose her. It will tear you apart, this girl that
Fit. This girl that may well have been yours
Forever. Lose her. Now you know love.
It hurts.
My three favorite poems are this one,
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