The philosophy of entwined fingers.

They'll see your fingers entwined
And know for a fact that it is love.
Short-lived or just for the night or forever:
This distinction no one can make.
Just love in its form of tantalizing serenity
A promise when your hands touch,
A history so deeply etched that
When you're old and blue, her fingers
Entwined in yours will make you feel
Love in full bloom--fresh and undying.

Her touch, her heavy breath, her crystal
Eyes that give her away--you'll memorize
It all. And the memory will rush back to you
When she hides the flaws of your palms
In hers. Like she owns them, like she'll
Cure them. And when perfection sings
To you, you'll know it is your fingers curled around hers
That make the music. In the brief moment
Before you have to run and give it all up
Hold her hand again--she'll teach you how to live.

A whisper of the start of something that only
Time will tell how long it will last. A scream
Of distance that you know not how long you need
To map. A cry of an uncertainty: Blame the wandering
Heart. But a forever, a story, a never-ending connection
Of the time your fingers entwined in completion.
A story you'll tell with everyone you've ever loved,
But for now--it is her. Her fingers will make you
Promise for eternity plus one. When silence fails you one day,
Entwine your fingers around hers, reassure her, and stay.

Just before

They matter:

The ones who cried

Just before the lights went out.

They live:

The ones who broke

Just before their youth began.

They amaze:

The ones who stand

Just before it was another dawn.

They hide:

The ones who lost

Just before the war began.

They love:

The ones who sang

Just before our poetry failed.

They walk:

The ones who hurt

Just before their legs wore out.

They write:

The ones who live

Just before we spin toward disaster.

Those who matter, live, amaze, hide, love, walk--they write.

Please don't medicate yourself until you can write yourself out of tragedy: Nothing that words can't heal.

Take that shot.

Heavily-breathing, I see you stand at the edge of the court
Waiting for your turn, for this one chance to prove yourself.
I wasn't there to get impressed. If impressions matter,
you took my breath away years ago. I don't care
If you lose or win this game, I want to see you play.
I want to see you run to take that shot which you'd
Miss if you didn't start right now. And when you win,
I want to watch you pause to look at me for approval.
I can't give you any, I've run out of fucks I could give.
But that doesn't mean I can't hope, hope for you,
Hope for you and her, you and him, you and them.
You and I? A story long done, but yet, I want to hope
For us. Because I want to see you let go as strongly
As you've held on, I want to see you laugh as hard
As you wept that night. I want to see you succeed,
As you gave up when I walked away. I want to see
You know that bitches come in colors and I was black.
I want you to take more shots at the court, to pair up,
To break up, to struggle, to live. I want to see you live
And learn that I can finally give you my last gift--
A smile, for all you were, are and ever will be to me.
I can't repay you, I can't find another like you,
But when a game's over, it's over. There's no turning
Back. You know this now and so do I, so when
I walk away without saying goodbye, say
I never deserved it but never think you didn't.
Because losers turn away and walk out,
The winners still play the game. I'd win another game,
Another time. But right now:
I want to see you play, I want to see you win
Or lose. Or draw. Just play, until the lights are out.