Graphic by Yujin Kim/The Choate News
there’s something about you that i will never forget.
i knew you in the fall, barely in the winter,
and i will love you in the spring.
some poppies poke out of the long grass,
climbing up the walls of that old building over there.
pick me one, won’t you? i want to stroke its silk skirt,
flatten it between wrinkled pages of my favorite classical literature —
crush it, and revive it again.
i’m nervous writing this even right now. are you staring over my shoulder,
watching?
when you read this, will you know who i’ve written it for?
or will you print it out and mail it to her, scrawling your love and best wishes
on the corner of the page? that is my page, this is my poem.
i don’t like to tell people i need them, but i will to you,
if it makes you stay.
stay, and pick poppies with me.
the blossoms sing sharp red this time of year.
