this happened

Portrait.
All arms and legs, talking, talking, playing with hair on the couch next to me
Giggling, looks at me and smiles as I write this, I smile, look away
Suddenly made nervous by a kid, don’t want to be rude,
Don’t know how to respond, plus would rather write about her
We chat, she talks very quickly, plays with her hair, why am I so nervous
Her crew, kids, freshmen, her a kid, why am I nervous,
too much coffee for the middle aged, don’t want
To come off rude, asks me what I’m writing I say:

I’m tryin to capture the tiny sun bleached golden threads on your brown arms
I’m tryin to capture the way your friend with the death metal shirt laughs and shifts his weight
I’m tryin to capture the harsh song of the hatchling mocking bird demanding food and attention, the
One bird rushed, flying franticly in and out of our shrubs, same as every spring, to regurgitate
Into the mouth of her young, another flying form point to point around the yard,
Buzzing the nighbors cat, making a very specific sound that means “get away”
I’m trying to get at the pure distilled logos churning in the center of your guts
I’m trying to shuffle closer to the light and heat that illuminates all this and is
Budding budding budding exploding all around us at this very moment
I’m tryin to blueprint eternity, with illustrations and commentary in the margins
I’m after the password primordial, the golden chant, the exact prayer,
So I watch close,

Nah, I’m lyin’ I didn’t say that, I didn’t much say anything, I said it was for school
Something for school, and put my headphones on