Jesus with long hair
Paul with crotchety everything
Both are blind and lead the blind
Like a circus
Around and around
Fleas could do better teamwork
Because the robotics could save them
Our maybe, just maybe
Jesus and Paul are the robots
Programmed like toasters
And tea kettles resting
On shelves of good will
Until some thrifter thinks a good idea
To invest in them just to throw them away
And make room for better junk on the shelf
But I wish he would come back
And explain himself
This generation is not that one
At war with each other
Signs and portents were all around
And adversaries cast down
Like lightening
If he was here
I’d ask which English translation was best
And then smirk
He’d then smirk with me
Followed by jokes and laughter
About the memes he inspired
And the magical letters he composed
‘I came back already,’ he’d say confidently
‘Once was enough for me,’ he’d chuckle
While sipping a crafty concoction I made
We’d even take a selfie together
To prove who was wrong all along
And its caption would be priceless
‘He’s back! Just not as promised.’
i.
I love your integrity
and balance
Not one day goes by when I don’t admire
your thoughtfulness and brilliance
ii.
I have a library
But you are the true intellectual between us
I think everyone around us notices the same
I study and write what is speculative and controversial
You study the concrete
You dwell upon the practical,
the efficient
I am a mere table of contents
You are the poem, the trilogy,
the biography, the book
with the best binding
I learn more from your book
and your teaching
than from all other sources taken together
iii.
You love life and are grateful for it
You don’t complain
Instead, you rejoice when it’s appropriate
iv.
You grieve for others
more than your own lot
You are the source of peace and contentment for others
for every moment between
You’re genuinely interesting, too
Being artistic and crafty just adds to what makes you so immensely intriguing
You’re also logical, but not annoyingly logical
v.
You don’t boast in doing good
You just do good constantly,
thinking of others,
even with age appropriateness
vi.
You listen and consider
and learn and process
prior to slight adjustments to your own convictions
vii.
It is the wise choice—taking into account techniques, timing, planning, and outcome—that becomes worthy of your consideration
You choose well, and that often reflexively,
instead of choosing too much or too little as a habit
viii.
Like a plate full of garden varieties and delicacies, you always nibble with choice—rarely a mouthful,
never any stuffing of face
You save for later so you can savor later
A to-go box
is for a full plate
that you can foresee
being impossible to finish
ix.
I remain mesmerized that you listen,
not so you can weasel around words
to get your own thoughts in
but to hear and respect and work with others
And to make them feel heard
You even choose to not listen at the most considerate times,
in order to be more productive and fruitful
A gracious spirit is evident the whole while, too, each and every time
x.
You work constantly
Your energy is as beautiful as you resting after a long day
When I peak at you while sleeping I think,
‘I can’t believe this one is mine.’
Adding to all of this, you’re sexy, fun, exquisitely modest, and positively incandescent
xi.
You are honest and clear in communication, and cute in your mannerisms
You are winsome and kind, careful and patient, generous and courageous, loyal and dignified, stable and trustworthy, resourceful and blissful
You are the most admiral person I have ever known—the sweetest, gentlest, most natural embodiment of maternity, femininity, and coadjutricity
You are the most valuable friend of my life
xii.
Thank you for everything you are
Thank you for everything you do
I lack nothing with you
I lack nothing because of you
I love you
Thank you for loving me