Emily Ritter
You Write About Him, I'll Write About You
I have little yellow blades,
Grass of sunset hills,
Stuck in my brain.
And I'll open my mouth, let the wind blow in,
But the yellow doesn't wiggle and
Light blue lines lose their vigor.
But I promise I'm not like the others,
I swear, that life is there
Within my nerves and her nerves too.
I discovered that girl in a book.
She published her inner-workings,
Did she really think I wouldn't see?
These nervous blue eyes are mirrors but
brown eyes are the easiest to believe.
Talk all you want about how the light hits the world
In such a way that nothing is real.
Stop talking because my head hurts,
And tiny mouse paw movements are driving me crazy.
But my ride will be here soon and my two last options are
Come back to earth or walk home alone.
(But some light gets through,
And my head is proof
That some birds can't fly,
No matter how pretty their wings may be.
But some birds can sing,
Even when their voice squeaks and there's a crack in my beak.)
I think I'll pretend
that I can't see the scope of the universe,
ignore the slow-motion snow-running.
No, I'll fall asleep on the porch in my
Jeans in my dreams with your hands underneath
And your teeth straight and clean.
(Would he ignore all of understanding?)
The stars were blowing my mind,
I'm sorry, I just couldn't make it back inside.
.
You make me feel like a kid again,
jumping over the fairy tale scene
for gentle kisses in the sunset's sighs.
You can't stand me because
I saw a swaying branch and mistook it as a bear.
And you think art is just a waste of trees,
But it's like looking in the mirror sometimes,
Or looking out a window,
And maybe I'll even see you waving your tree branch at me,
Beyond the glass.
But who is the one that waves at me?
Bittersweet stinging ant or
warm earth worm on a dew drop morning?
I'd like to think you'll always squirm.
.
If you just stare at her lips,
You'll never know if your skulls would collide,
Or if your soul would press against hers.
And of course,
you know the way to pale legs around sturdy hips
is slightly parted lips.
But I need to see my reflection in your scars,
and stop grinding my teeth,
Before I decide to let you in.
And maybe he doesn't know the answers to my
two years of questions
but he'll try his best to let me in.
