Emily Louise Perkins
April 6
The Rest of UsÂ
I refuse to be intimidated by your fierce intellect I admire it sureÂ
You always spell correctlyÂ
You can tell a good poem from a bad oneÂ
you can write your own brilliant tender
that good punctuationÂ
that opinion onÂ
It is not a cry for help it is a loud characteristicÂ
It is a cry We cry!Â
No one wants words in the trenchesÂ
we will take them sureÂ
but only to bring us closer to a steady heart steady breath steadfastness or just trustÂ
we want eyes we want touch mouth to mouth
we want someone to break through our sternum with their fist and protect our heart, lungs and major blood vessels from injury with their selflessness that’s how we’ll know they’re trueÂ
we want their hand to ease it all in there somehowÂ
Can you write about that for me but more elegantly but then can you actually be there for me when I fail?Â