Adapting Neruda

"Quiero hacer contigo lo que la koala hace con el árbol."

Para que me entiendas, querido

“What I want to say, querido, is
hunger is not romantic to the hungry.
What I want to say is
fear is not thrilling if you’re the one afraid.
What I want to say is
poverty’s not quaint when it’s your house you can’t escape from.
Decay’s not beautiful to the decayed.”

- from Still Life with Potatoes, Pearls, Raw Meat, Rhinestones, Lard, and Horse Hooves by Sandra Cisneros

After Lunch, with Frank O'Hara

"Now I am quietly waiting
for the catastrophe
of my personality
to seem beautiful again,
and interesting,
and modern."

Like This

When someone mentions the gracefulness

of the nightsky, climb up on the roof

and dance and say,

Like this.

If anyone wants to know what "spirit" is,

or what "God’s fragrance" means,

lean your head toward him or her.

Keep your face there close.

Like this.

When someone quotes the old poetic image

about clouds gradually uncovering the moon,

slowly loosen knot by knot the strings

of your robe.

Like this.

If anyone wonders how Jesus raised the dead,

don’t try to explain the miracle.

Kiss me on the lips.

Like this. Like this.

(Rumi)

For (and from) Robyn