as seen on Voicemail Poems!
Love revealed itself to me, sonambula,
cherubs with trumpets and harps in my daydreams
anointing the palms of my hands to your shoulders
– Que Dios nos bendiga
Never again can I end the evenings
without the cocoon of your arms
and rise without the heat of your chest on mine
in the morning
– Que Dios nos bendiga - if I
Knew my beloved was waiting & willing…
had I known my love would
come running crossing miles, crossing
states, crossing coasts,
I would’ve started praying
over your safety earlier to sheathe you
from all the harm on your way to me.
What was I even doing before I met you?
I thank Yemaya and her waters
for every tide that ended with our being here.
every person in our lineage that migrated and endured
and led us here. I knew
people loved before us, I know all lovers feel
they’re inventing something
– Que Dios nos bendiga, I always felt there
Was more to love in every partnership to precede
you but bless everyone who
paved the way so we could be
in love
aren’t we blessed to have found
each other so young?
so tender?
so gently?
so early in our lives? I knew
i was capable of submerging myself in the depths of love’s oceans
i knew I could merge myself in another’s breath
i knew there must be someone out there,
awake at night for me too while I cry
to the tangos my grandparents would fill rooms with
the boleros my mom perfumed bathrooms with
kitchens with la sala with
- how? how could she not rejoice
when I tell her “Mami,
al fin encontre mi amor.”
i knew I could resonate with their love songs
I knew something was
Missing. I knew it.
I pray everyone feels the ecstasy
I do when Keisha Cole
hits the chorus like the harp-playing
gilded angels did the day I fell in love:
Love, never knew what I was missing
But I knew once we started kissing
I found
you.