needing a word
between Like & Love . . .
I ampersand You

I like you
I mean—
I think I like like you

your necklace
disappearing in your striped shirt—
our first encounter

back and forth
the butterfly searches
for the perfect flower

top quarter champion

TOP half Champion

bottom quarter champion

summer sunset
milkshakes after chores
together

streetlight glow
I see you walking away
down the train track

a deep breath
the leaves dance
across      ground
          the

another cloudless sky.
when will I stop
wishing for rain?

TOP half champion

CHAMPION

BOTTOM half champion

your name
lights up my screen
then my face

smiling for no reason,
    or am I
        thinking of you?

her name in the sand
girlfriend
we are nothing more

the ocean waves
for the first time
I wave back

top quarter champion

BOTTOM half champion

bottom quarter champion

Rubik’s cube
resting on my knees
learning his joys

best friends
we exchange our Valentine's
in March

dance party for two
puts the stress at bay
for the next 3 minutes and 22 seconds

I danced
the first night we met;
I can't dance

my engine
runs for hours
in front of your house

home alone
playing Rock Band
in my underwear

rushing to class
a strand of hay
tangled in my hair

the blonde
becomes brighter
the suns rays

top champion

Champion

bottom champion

actually having
to put make up on
a night on the town

a streetlamp shines
on a playful grin
is it curfew already?

from her parents
she learned what love
shouldn't look like

“You make me
feel so young”
my grandparents waltz

skipping stones
alone
dad casts another line

poisoned apple
no longer my gateway
to Eden

black and white ivory
dissonance here
new found love

I want to hold your hand
you'd rather hold
your grudge

top champion

Champion

bottom champion

comerunhideawayalone

growing in corner
with no light      unable to move
wallflower

high school cafeteria
overcrowded
solitary confinement

narrow hallways
cafeteria smell
was I really this small?

standing here
staring at a punnet square
the wrath of genetics

ghostly dandelion seed
       floating in the breeze
take me for a ride

Hakuna Matata
no worries
in love with you

I want to hold your hand
you'd rather hold
your grudge

top champion

Champion

bottom champion

the smaller version of myself
snuggles against me
so good to be home

steel bars
no door latch
no escape