I met someone that changed me
he flipped my world right side up.

I spent a long time wondering,
was it his lips or his eyes or his chin or his hands or his ears
that made me loose all common sense?
It took a long time until I saw
it wasn’t just the physical that drew me in
I felt steadier, balanced, when he was near,
he was my breath of fresh air,
my finger tips ached to touch his skin
I giggled at his bad jokes
and teased him with rhetoric games.

It was a playful tug of war
I gave him my trust
I wrapped up my wounded heart
offered it freely.

Life is not always that simple,
the single hardest thing I’ve ever done
was ultimately walking away
hoping he would come for me.

-Vanessa Hernandez

 
poem audio recording