No 1: FIRST ATTEMPT AT A LOVE POEM

PHOTO BY LUCIA AUERBACH

SHELBY EDISON

I would write a love poem

but I don’t think that all the things I love

can be contained on paper.

Cannot be summarized into stanzas.

Capture feelings in the words

held in a Merriam-Webster.

But if i were to write a love poem;

I love stargazing,

waving at Scorpio as he chases Orion

across the tapestry of the night sky.

I love watching fireworks on the lake,

hearing the pops and fizzles,

even if I cannot see all the lights.

I love early mornings,

dewy grass and wet shoelaces.

I love sudden summer rainstorms

that flush the sky with a yellow tint.

Small white rapids on the curb,

making excuses to stay inside the café

for a few more moments, a few more hours.

I love time,

endless amounts of it.

Whole summers blocked off calendars.

I love getting paint on my hands

and washing it off in the shower.

The pigments bleeding in the water

and leaving behind skin

which reminds me I’m human.

I love love poems,

listing all I love

because in this nerdy, fast-beating heart of mine,

I have a lot of that to share.