12.  Everything They’re Not

How overwhelmed I am

by the way You love

someone who longed

for love but never even

knew how to spell it.

My love was lost in knights

in rusted armor, women

who beat the system

and shattered ceilings

with the hate in their hearts

and their regret kept under wraps,

and a loose interpretation of what

beauty meant–less a soul thing

and more of a physical sacrifice

to the god-demons of poor

sense of self.

But how could I even know who I was,

if I didn't know you, El Roi, the one

who sees even little things who

pretend to be everything they're not.