For Mnunu

Because my words are all I've ever had to give you... and because you loved them all

Motek

There were days when I would marvel
At this person in my room
Like where’d she come from?
Who the heck is she?
And other thoughts would fill my head

There were nights we stayed up talking
In the dark, the truth is spoken
How’s your life been?
Is it similar to mine?
All the answers came in time

Candid, blunt, and always laughing
We were perfectly attune
Sharing meals and showers is easy
When you give what’s in your heart

It’s so strange now
It hardly happened
We had only just begun
So the poetry switched topics
But the journey carries on

There were days when I would marvel
At this person in my room
There were days I wondered
What did I do to deserve you?

You were who I needed
And were willing to reach deep
Who knows what might have happened
If we ever simply gave in to sleep


The Candle

I want to give you so many gifts
To take with you for the long road home
But nothing packs so well
And I wouldn’t want to weigh you down
You say to me- I don’t have anything
Perhaps it is because you have already given me so much


When

The hardest thing is to choose a voice
Who best to speak of friendship?
When random comments lead to laughs
And toothpaste drooling down your chin
When what we always do
Is habit- and goodbye
When I don’t know how to thank you
And I feel the wall of tears invade my eyes
But there’s also the most important when
When will I see you again?


Maid to Order

She stood- waiting
Too much make up and a shiny green dress
Leaning on a car dressed in bows
Her hips conveying discontent
Cigarette at her lips
Daring passersby to take a picture
Waiting for the bride
Waiting for someone else’s hour
Indignant and annoyed
We are all tired of waiting
And in that moment
I knew exactly how she felt


Last Night’s Lines

Words are fickle friends
They come to me late
Looking for a one night stand
And are almost always gone by daybreak

I tell myself I’ll remember
Their names in the morning
But I rarely do

They come demanding to be written
Demanding to be heard
But sleep is also pressing

They only come when I’m alone
In fairness, they do not wish to disturb my slumber
It’s just that timing’s everything


Stahm

Somewhere between Jack Johnson and Ben Gurion’s dream
For a second I wonder
In panicked realization
How are there only three days left?!

Then I ease into memory
There has been SO much
So many early mornings
Glowing sunsets and late nights out
Learning, traveling, growing, and writing

So now words spew
Come flowing forth
And I am SO alive
Yeah, I talk a lot
But there’s mamash to say!