a real live boy

I just wanted to be a real live boy.

I just wanted to dance, but refused.

I wanted to be bigger than me.
I wanted to let go of that bench.
I wanted a father who was not. a sky around my arms.

I wanted threads to connect not bind.
I wanted to be not alone, but was, by my word.
I wanted a grilled cheese sandwich.

I want our distance to melt like sugar does.
I want poems to make a difference. like meals do.
I want my child to grow. tall corn reaching the feast.

I want this poem in a pie.

I want seeds to be my feet. you will find me in weeds. everywhere.

I want dawn to be fresh turned dirt. new meanings eager to be. and are.

I want close to be ripe apples on your limbs.
I want discovery to matter more than measured history.
I want dreams to keep their sleep. let eyes answer more than doubts.

I want the world to change because I asked. by world I mean you.
by change I mean raise your hand.

I want your world to look exactly like you. I want leaves that rise and fall.
I want to share this poem with someone reading me.

I want words better spent upon your lips.

I want what is to be. I will call it home.

I want wanting to be as water is.

I want a world bigger than my imagination. your face in each dawn cloud.

imagine feet kissing earth.

imagine children being found, not lost.

imagine no discomfort without mending embrace.

imagine when you speak heart the world listens you.

imagine blooms like waves. and the sea.

imagine enough. that is who you are.

imagine your voice contains what you want life to be. make it so.

my legs are trees that walk.
my arms are feathers rooted in sky.

my thoughts do what windows do.
my feelings are water. and clouds.

my fingers are painting curious.

lips thirst for another thirst.
feet define my home, my shoes.

I am here to dance with you.

neil reid © 2015 october

alternate pov bodies List poem poems SECOND BOOK

inside my body

inside my body every breath has touched.

inside my body a lion’s share of faces called close to feast.

inside my body, every thirst, every storm, every doubt. every boat.

inside my body the summer skin like talcum earth. then she moved away.

inside my body each hurt who sits with a thread wrapped ankle-round.

inside my body fear, fear when she said, no more.

inside my body whispers kept. yes, I do remember you.

inside my body, scissors & fingertips, a little here, a little there. some images remain, even when gone.

inside my body lightning thought. water washes me.

inside my body the texture of every thing and everybody I have touched.

inside my body the creases of sheets. head to toe to you.

inside my body everything I think smart, even when I’m not.

inside my body each flirting glance. evidence why watches have second-hands.

inside my body every rain and tear and every kiss. thus, these crops, these shared meals.

inside my body a template that makes my fingers write.

inside my body left & right & sometimes flight. honestly.

inside my body blinks that resemble bricks, like a wall. make mine mud.

inside my body, memories. all of them. all of you.

inside my body my sense of time. but, I forget.

inside my body, theft. one best measure nearly lost. then you. then me.

inside my body peace they say. inside my body joy they say.

inside my body you speak loudest.

List poem poems REVISED SECOND BOOK you decide

things I’ll do when I master space & time

make pizza suddenly appear on my plate.

make all dogs friendly, including bears.

kites would fly, with or without any wind. (and I’d learn swiftly to run into the wind instead of running downwind breaking my kite into little bits)

make hair grow where I want and not where I don’t.

learn to pronounce cacophony.

not confuse yoga and yogurt, ever again.

let trees decide which way the wind will blow.

make hunger be satisfied. neither shall they thirst unquenched.

think only of good things to do.

pretty people will all smile at me. OK. everyone. see?

try out sunsets in green. wouldn’t that be nice?

have afternoon tea with the dalai lama. lama lama lama. and we’d laugh & laugh.

learn to write upside down.

people will see heaven, right in front of them.

I won’t be “careful” about what I say. not careless I mean, but honest, simply that.