Don’t Fall

 

I tell you, “Don’t fall in love with me.”

 
What I mean is –

 
Don’t build me up on a pedestal

Imagining everything I am

 

Don’t tell me I’m your goddess

Your princess

Your muse

Yet never get to know me

 

Don’t blame me

When the cracks in the pedestal show

And you realize

I haven’t lived up to

The story you wrote

 

If you are going to love me

Love me a little at a time

For who I really am

 

Someone standing too close to the paintings

Because she refuses to wear glasses

 

Someone who gets lost

Coming back from the bathroom

And talks during movies

 

Drinks coffee at 8 P.M.

Only to complain that she can’t sleep

 

Loves the Mets like a religion

Without being able to name a single player

 

Who remembers tiny details about you

And forgets the huge things

 

Don’t fall in love with me

Falling is a quick movement

Out of control

An accident

 

If there ever comes a time

When you love me

Let it be

Slow

Soft

Deliberate

 

Don’t fall head over heals

Don’t fall at all

Just take a step