Hard to Love

You fold your matchstick arms, one atop the other,
The sun is a token of yellow,
Glinting through the window behind you,
Playing off the filaments of your skin,
The skin of my soldier boys.

You twist the straw wrapper,
Threading it through your fingers,
Then crumpling it in your fist, which contains your story.

I choose to take another bite, the avocado slippery on my tongue.
"How do I unscrew you?" I think.
"How do I unfold you?"
You who have determined to occupy so little space.

I think of you,
Tucking yourself under the pews at church,
Until the parishioners left and you slept there alone,
Notched in the arms of God.

I wait for you.
I wait with you.
I wait.

You slough off your shell.
And tell me about the father who sold you,
And your mother who let him.

You walk a tightrope between telling and keeping,
I hold onto your silence,
Watch the landscape of your face,
Marvel at your eyes, still white, still lit.

You tell me about being a slave at the age of ten,
And of the man who tried to undo your silver straps.

But the worst of it all
Is the family who rescued you,
Called you Princess,
Loved you,
Taught you,
And then,
And then poured it all out and sent you back.

You say to me, "I think I must be hard to love."
With bravery trickling down your face, you whisper,
"It is hard for me to love."

I nod.  I know this difficulty of loving and being loved,
The exquisite risk of allowing myself to be loved.

We sit across from each other,
Two so hard to be loved.
And somewhere on the table,
Between lunch plates and crumbs,
Love has joined us.

for E.L.M.

Little Love Poems

Happy Valentine's Day!  Maybe today is your favorite day of the year and you're surrounded by chocolates and roses.  Maybe you're spending today in your own good company, but you wish you could just pull the covers over your head and stay in bed until February 15th shows its face.  No matter what today looks like for you, I hope you find a way to show someone you care about that they're loved.

And to get you in the mood, here are a few love poems written by my little ones.

Here's one a little girl wrote for her mommy.

Marshmallow Hugs

Mom, you are as beautiful as a rose!

Your hugs feel like soft, soft marshmallows.

I love you more than the moonlight.

XOXO

I love you, Mom!

 

And a couple for sisters and brothers.

My Love Poem

You are as sweet as a rose.

I love you so much more than my dog.

 

Dear Brother,

Happy Valentine's Day!

You are kind.

You are sweet as sugar.

I like you because you share with me and you help me read.

 

Last, but not least, here is my favorite poem written by a little boy to his dad.

My Love Poem

Your love is soft like a soft cloud.

I love you to the ocean.

You are handsome like a tiger.

I love you with joy.

 

I am so using that tiger line on my hubby tonight.  Happy Valentine's Day!