there is a girl

with gaps between her teeth,

and with hair loose and uncontrolled

that wraps around your fingers

like vines around a hardened trunk.

 

there is a girl

with vibrant and warm cheeks.

skin soft as silk,

hued and toned like a plump peach.

ripe, caught with

the energy of spring

and the passivity

of autumn.

 

there is a girl

whose arms curl around you

and pull you in with

a tug, like a wave.

pulling YOU,

from all the others she could've picked,

YOU, only you,

deep within.

 

there is a girl

with eyes that squint whenever she smiles.

a smile cautious and unsure,

reassured by the scrutiny of the eyes.

darting about,

overturning at night and peering into

darkened corners.

looking for signs of danger,

telltale warnings that this isn't to last.

 

there is a girl

whose smiles turned to sobs,

whose joy wilted;

a beautiful flower

slowly dying in a field full of weeds.

 

there is a girl

who forgot who she was.

the reflection

became

a stranger,

the home

a prison.

 

there is a girl

that never knew love.

all she knew

was the comfort that

came from strangers

and habits

that promised escape.

 

escape

from the past:

a fractured family

and a lonely home.

escape

from the present:

its isolation and fruitless endeavors

that splintered her from herself

escape

from the horror of the future:

the uncertain and inevitable.

 

 

there is a girl

who I met one scorching summer.

who I joked with over bargains of reese's chocolates

and bad puns,

who I stood up with

at 2 in the morning discussing Shakira’s best song,

who i laid alongside by a small pond and discussed freedom,

who I wept after and apologized to when I knew I was wrong,

who I flirted with at a gay pride parade as she played hard-to-get,

who took me home and dressed up in sexy dresses yet would not look me in the eyes,

who invited me back later

and sat on my lap

as our bodies danced,

who, like a jellyfish in the sun,

I melted for,

Who through trial after trial I learned

to love and trust

and who I’d give it all to

 

 

there is a girl

with gaps between her teeth.

gaps filled with soft and quite breathes,

filled with laughter and conversation,

filled with emotion and promise

and hope.

 

There is a girl

3000 miles from home.

And I wait for her

With outstretched arms

And an open heart.