love poem

Love Poem No. 9

/ dowdicus / Leave a comment 
There are too many love poems in the world.
 
It could be a conspiracy by Big Love
to sell saccharine devotional inventories.

Maybe literary prestige and ambition 
inspire in the novice poet a dream
which can only be described in verse.

I think it was a basic way to test my cleverness–
the way an artist learns to master perspective,
then learns to break 
the expectations of the viewer
and folds this knowledge into their craft.

It’s simply human.
  
One hopes we all experience love,
and maybe some of us try to distill that love 
into something that insists the world know,
  
“I am here–
and I love in all the ways I know how.”

Sign/Signified

/ dowdicus / Leave a comment 
I’ve been thinking,
Lately–
I never wrote you a poem.
It’s strange to me.
I usually write my lovers poems.
But I’ll admit
I kept you at arm’s length.

I think being friends with you
Has made me feel closer to you.
And I feel the kind of love I want to feel:
Not the terrifying, heart-palpitating
Need
Of a new relationship,
But I admire you.
I think you are everything I want to be.

It’s challenging,
Writing a poem for someone.
You may love some tiny, offhand detail about their person,
And they’ll say, “that’s not me.”
And then you must reconcile [them] with them.
And I’ll always wonder
If I love [you] or you.

And now I’ve written a poem for you—
Or maybe for [you]—
And though I'm not sure the difference is clear,
I’ve forgotten what I intended to say,
Having gotten lost in sweet memories
Of happy smiles on your face.