A girl says:

<The first time I have ever felt love,

Well, true love,

Was in the dream I had two nights ago

I met someone who I had never seen before

There was a man who held my hand

And we stayed that way for a long time.

I forget his face,

But I remember warmth.

Rational parts of my brain conclude he must have had

Trademark dreamboat eyes and a princely smile

But all I remember was the perfect way he kissed me

And we held each other as if the other completed the missing half

Of our universe.

It was too good to be true, of course, but I woke up with his phantom hands still wrapped

Tightly around me.

But that was the first time I have ever felt love.>

An onlooker eavesdrops:

<The first time I have ever felt love,

Well, unconditional love,

Was when I took my very first breath.

Inhale: the scent of a mother’s blood, sweat, and tears

She makes a promise to protect me forever.

Exhale: The night comes as nights do,

But she shields me with her soft touch and stories of beings prouder than the unattainable stars.

I suppose that since that First Moment

I have been surrounded by love all my life.

In unlikely compliments

Endless cycles of mutual recognition

How my best friend cried when I went to camp

Feeling as I close the cover of a breathtaking novel

In the kindness of strangers

When my brother wants to watch a movie with me to see how I react

And my sister asking what colors I want in the friendship bracelet she’s making for me

My dad: “Did you win?”

To another great friend I send ILYs and encouragement to improve

She plays my favorite song because she knows how much I love the lyrics

My grandparents always asking how I am, always thinking about my wellbeing

And his face that shifts in wonder when his wandering eyes stare at the magnificent sky

Joy I feel as the music surge through my veins

My mom as a beacon of strength and light and power

And the laughing the laughing the laughing the laughing

It never starts with a kiss.>