I understood little more
Than your smile -
Your laughs -
Those frowns that crowned your brows
And the look in your eyes
That loved and disapproved
Both at the same time
I understood little more
The exchange of words -
The tones you took
Between the rise and falls of your voice
That echoed often in my mind
And I grew up a little more
Understanding even less
Of your sneers that teased
The very essence of the dreams
That once enveloped me as reality
And I woke up feeling sad all over again
But I understood a little more this time
Of fingers that caressed and touched
With words that praised one side and condemned the other -
As silences became as painful as those voices
That rose and fell and shot and disappeared -
Leaving these little holes
From whence my breath began to escape me
Is there all there is to this?
I understand little, you see, to this very day
Building this very self by the image of others to please
In hopes for those very voices that clash and break to cease;
I am no one’s property, that little I understand
As I have moved heavens and earths
From your very eyes that are wide and shut -
Rocks and mountains along this strange little trail called life,
Will you see this too, I wonder,
Some day perhaps, it doesn’t have to be today,
And see me as me, all in its entirety?
I understand little, you see,
But I know I’ve tried
