A Poem That Speaks Your Name

There was a poem that spoke your name
I read it in another tongue
Reciting words before we fell into bed
laughing at my clumsy attempt
to be an overseas romantic
to be something more

There was a poem that spoke your name
I read it in another tongue
"Don't be sad, be horny"
Is what you thought I said
Is what you thought you heard

There was a poem that spoke your name
I read it in another tongue
it spoke of life and death
of not being born until lovers meet
of not dying until love is found

There was a poem that spoke your name
I read it in another tongue
I wrote down lines of what I saw
to words I thought I knew
Wanting nothing more than to make you smile
as you blow out candles on a cake


— Mark Butkus