The Difficulty of Falling in Love with a Human
By Sidney Garner
One of my great loves, he is absolutely human,
Full of deep flaws and obscure quirks.
His humanness is usually lovable
But it’s also the thing I hate most about him.
He shakes during the night even after I pull him close,
Skin to skin, so he can hear my heart beating,
So he can feel my heat and know I’m still there.
But the nightmares continue to eat him up
One bite at a time from the inside out
And it doesn’t matter that I won’t leave him,
Because they convince him I will.
In the morning, he’ll smile up at me,
His large hand stroking through my hair and down my back
But he always grasps my arm too tight, like he’s afraid I’ll bolt if he would ever let go.
Later, he’ll capture my hand, cold trapped in warmth,
And pull me up and around the room. We’ll dance like we’re between the stars
And the universe is just for us. But then I’ll step on his foot.
Or maybe stain the night sky with the wine I was holding.
He freezes us in our swaying and his face bunches up in anger and betrayal.
He takes a step back, a quick rush of breath
And releases it all onto me. He’s as quick as a rabbit,
Switching from one face to the next. A smile turns into sobs.
Laughter into anger. Patience into meanness.
I’m used to sitting on the couch until he crawls up to me,
Putting his head in my lap like an overgrown retriever,
I pet out his apologies and I pour out my own.
Yes, my love is human.
And that is the worst thing about him.