Wishes

*** 

Wish you could see me now

30 years bold and growing old

Been everywhere and in between

Any place ‘cept where you’d be.

Wish you could see me now

But could you see me then?

We were young, man, we were kids

Don’t understand that sins don’t end

Three years gone and growing strong

Built houses that I’d never dreamed of

Just more twirls round this wash’n machine

More chores to go, it never slows.

Wish you could see me now

Living life and I’m awful proud

Of who I am, who I bet you are

And who the hell we’re going to be.

Still wish you happy birthday

And happy new year too

Still calling you my best friend

And best man, too.

Wish you could see me now

But wishes are only dreams

You’ll never see

Been everywhere and in between

Any place ‘cept where you’d be.

***

What do you call an alligator that wears vests?

 ***

all of the ones i pick

are unique

one has a heart on it

the other, a club tail

so i can always spot it

You have to pick

just a few

to focus on

this is the osteoderm

it means bone skin

if you cut it off

it has age rings

like a tree

***

Being seen

Scientists have shown

that the very act

of being perceived

changes cells, that is,

that being seen

changes everything,

and sometimes I feel like Julia Roberts

hiding from the cameras, lying in bed,

naked with Hugh Grant and quoting Rita Hayworth: 

“They went to bed with Gilda,

And woke up with me.” 

The priest told the wedding guests

that in his dialect

the word for love meant

to look one in the eyes

so I asked a guest,

where he was from

And she said “Africa,” 

as if that explained everything,

And I wondered if he felt sadness

about not ever having looked 

someone in the eyes, 

or never having someone 

look into his.

The best compliment 

anyone has ever given me:  

“I feel so seen,” she said, giggling,

And my friend who caught me in bed

with a full rotisserie chicken on my birthday

And pulled me out to jump a fence

cutting her knees so that I could see

the night sky, the way it was

supposed to be.

The one, like a flower,

who took time to open up

but once she did, well…

she did not say what, 

but I knew what she meant, 

I could see it.