When did you last say your parents names aloud?
I come home to love every day
I walk through the door
And I am enveloped in it
My parents’ names are love letters
To me and to my sister
To our children and their own
I must
Realize their names
If I am ever to let myself
Be joyous.
For I come home everyday
And find God checking in on me.
You may find yourself competing with him
And I urge you not to try.
In Garland, the rain puddles reflect the streetlights.
They glimmer a dark murky infinite gray.
I look across from them and see a Braums
The brightest light in the city
But in San Francisco,
The moon reflects on the ocean.
I’d never seen anything like it
The shimmer of the moon alive
Dancing towards the horizon
Just beyond this, you can spot infinity.
And the only thing brighter than that,
Is the twinkle in your eyes.
As you watch it slip away.
You poked your head out just so I could see you
But you meant for only me
To see you.
As I turned around to tell everyone about you
I saw they had entered a trance
Unaware of my voice
Or perhaps, it was I that had walked into a dream
And I looked back at you
To find you turning over and over
In the water, slowed down clockwork
You were the most prolific thing in the bay.
And yet at the same time that you rotated…
You were shaking your head
Back and forth
A sly no
A promise
That you would only let me discover you
At that moment
Because you were telling me something
You were telling me
While the ocean would be there forever
It would soon be my last chance to jump in.
Naomi Samuel