For real this time.

I am lingering on a kiss

In an attempt to seem less teenage

Because in moments like this

My old soul and my young heart

Get tangled

Tripping each other

Coinciding power lines and lightning strikes

And I have lost service

Because with every daydream

I am rendered disconnected

Because my eyes paint themselves glassy

Unopened windows

Where anyone who might peer in

Can see a frenzy of feeling

Played in concertos

Of Chicago street choruses and

the faint swing of the zipper on your leather jacket

as it accompanies each move you make

because your hands began to paint me

extremeties covered in compliments I swore I’d never hear

as you hand crafted each description of me

and spelled it out letter by letter

My heart had its first birthday

As it began to grow with each new hope

That we could entwine fingers

like stitches

keeping everything together

and I was over joyed in that brief second

when we laughed because

you finally got to bite my bottom lip

like you’d dreamed about over morning coffee

and in that moment I realized

that your eyes were glazed like mine

I looked into windows

That were tinted the same shade

And I had to contain the fireworks

To make them a small burst

Because my soul and my heart had argued

Until the moment you kissed me

And reckless abandon

Had a nice ring to it

Your arms

Had space just for me

And your eyes

Could only take polaroids of my posture

Stars spoke sonnets in my ear

and your fingers drew constellations between shoulder blades

I lost and found myself 

in one brief existence of forever

as time proved its brevity

and I found myself writing love poetry

for real this time

because in a situation like this

I could over-metaphor a kiss

or I could simply state this

I found home in your smile

and peace when we were chest to chest

you held me like a rag doll you'd kept since you were a child

precious

for the first time in my life

 And I never wanted to leave**