lay yourself at my feet
put your heart in my hands
believe me when I say I love you
come rest with me
sleep quietly
IÂ’ll stay awake
watch over and protect you
stroke your hair
kiss your cheek

there wonÂ’t ever come a time
that I wonÂ’t be content
with just loving you
so many times IÂ’ve begged
prayed youÂ’d see how much I could love you
if only youÂ’d let me
I could give you so much
I wouldnÂ’t hold anything back
only to make you happy

just relax
lie in my arms
put your head on my chest
stay peacefully with me
I wonÂ’t ever let you fall
I wonÂ’t ever make you lonely
just rest

11/27/2002

Author's Note: I’ve always been bewildered by the fact that some people have a hard time just loving someone. It’s always been so easy for me to love people, so when they can’t return the feeling, I can’t get with that. This poem comes from two places in me: frustration and love. Not plain old boring love, but unconditional love. It knows it might be alone forever, but it continues anyway. There’s frustration in this only because of my own lack of understanding and assurance. A lot of the time we already have what we complain about not having. It’s just that sometimes your situations can’t fill you in on those things. As I wrote this I thought of PJ Harvey’s “Rub ‘Til it Bleeds.” It’s not the first time I’ve had one of those sadistic flashes. On a first date with a boy after our first kiss, I thought to myself “I could walk out right now and crush his hopes and hurt his feelings. He’d wonder why but there’d be no reason. Boys have done that to me. I could finally do it back.” But I didn’t. Why stoop to a boy’s level? I had the same feeling with this poem. There’s a strong impulse to sing “and you believed me... I’m calling you weak...” I guess that happens whenever I get too sugary sweet. But I would never ever act on it. That’s the whole point of this poem. Some girls might give into that thought, but I wouldn’t because I love you. That’s the big statement here.

Posted on 11/27/2002
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