Picture Book

IÕve been
Trying to find the time
To write you a letter
Or a love poem
Or a motivational speech
Or something
But
Life is complex
And complicated
You get ahead
Just to be defeated
Get up to
Remain seated
Work extra hard
Just to stay afloat
ItÕs never the same
But not much different
Life is persistent
Cause somehow
It keeps bringing me back
To you
And somehow
ThatÕs enough
To make it bearable
Sometimes even incredible
Being with you
But when youÕre away
The words donÕt come easy
So forgive me
My awkward balance
And scattered focus
ItÕs harder to sleep
Without you
Protecting me
From the night and early morn
Heart torn as you leave
Caught on your shirt sleeve
As I inwardly beg you to stay
But with nothing to say
My kisses are
ŅI love youÓ s
And yours are
ŅI love you tooÓ s
The sun set on
My inner clock
As my smile fades
And my eyes itch
Behind the shades
As my soul closes the curtain
On the peek-a-boo booth
And hangs the
Sold out sign
The ticket booth is closed
The show is about to begin
Two-step and four square
Shuffle off to Buffalo
But never get anywhere
DonÕt even care
Just going through the motions
With little to no
Real emotions
Just longing for you
Every time I pause
No matter what the cause
My mind wanders off
To find you
Invite you over
And love you insidiously
Over the river
And through the woods
Through the storm
And under the gun
IÕll ride
My little red hood
To your big bad wolf
ŌTil grandmaÕs house
Is the one we own
The whole apple pie
A la mode
Vanilla ice cream
And caramel whipped cream
You know what I mean
Satisfaction guaranteed
And
YouÉ got what I need
Best friends Ōtil the
Very,
And they lived
Happily ever after,
End

by Empress Nzingha