Birthday Poem

For one of my friends' birthday I wrote a poem. This was in line with tradition, because for most birthday parties I go to I try to write something for the person - usually a short story. This started when I accidentally got one friend a book that I had gotten her the previous year; I vowed to make up stories instead of buying them so such a mistake would never happen again. Well here it goes - it was kind of quick, filled with inside jokes and references, and probably not my best work, but whatever.

Close Your Eyes

Crinkle-eyed giggles

Blackberries – the juice stains on her fingertips.

Drops like transparent moons, hanging full on the branches.

Milky seedlings, fuzzy-stemmed, purple-bottomed.

Foil leaves curled fawn-fresh yellow.

Swollen eyed, bare footed

Come to cool our screaming eyes and scrunch our toes in the pale soil

Silver spoons and green earthworms

Rosin smiles

Wide eyed pollen dusted eyelashes

Eyes closed leaning on her shoulder

Gum wrapper cranes pineapples plastic rope

Clear water hands curled hands open in the water

Close your eyes, wonder what she would choose.

Morbid garlic mustard lines

The rich pale yellow.