Poetry
I've been writing poetry, on and off, since high school. The early ones are lost. Some of the more recent ones are worth sharing....
Momentary Love
You didn’t call.
I can live with that; we’d just barely met.
We live 1000 miles apart;
What sense does that make?
You’re beautiful and smart and the kind of girl
That drives boys and girls crazy with desire.
I’m just one of many.
So, darling, why do I care?
In the middle of talking about your past and my past
And finding amazing parallels,
You looked at me and said,
“I’ve passed for so long, you know,
That sometimes,
I begin to believe it myself.”
Your words were tender.
There was flicker of pain in your eyes
And I saw that you knew,
In having lived the dream
Your life still held sadness.
Then, just for a moment
We weren’t strangers talking about our pasts.
We were present with each other:
A heart that was raw and a heart
That held your tenderness....
Erika Anne Laurentz
March 7, 2015
Cupcakes and coffee
They close at 5:00, just when we’d planned to arrive.
I ordered your coffee as they stacked chairs
And you weren’t flustered by the chaos.
You marveled at the beauty of the pattern
She’d created in the foam on your latte.
You bought us cupcakes at the shop next door
And we laughed and talked at a table outside.
We ate our cupcakes with the reverence
Of wine tasters practicing Zen.
Oh, what fun to be 5-years-old again!
Erika Anne Laurentz
March 13, 2015
At the Hilton
The elevator doors opened
The moment you walked by...
You and your friend,
So finely dressed,
So very handsome.
Just for a moment,
Our eyes met
And you recognized me.
"Oh my," escaped your lips,
An involuntary whisper
In your sweet Southern drawl.
You averted your eyes.
Flying to meet you,
The stranger beside me
Apologized for bringing her child.
I thanked her for not changing seats.
“I’m transgender,” I said,
“We’re contagious, you know.”
We laughed and talked
The hours away.
But, you, my dear, were shocked to see
That someone had let me in.
Erika Anne Laurentz
March 30, 2017
Trusting my life to Kevlar
​
Trusting my life to Kevlar,
To wits and weapons and brothers-in-arms....
Small things
Compared to removing the armor,
Trusting my heart to you....
No longer naïve.
And, you, my darling,
Naked without armor,
Trusting your heart to me.
Erika Anne Laurentz
November 29, 2015
Pre-surgical Eve
I love my body.
Not that I'm overly fond of it,
But it gets me around
And heals well enough
And it brings delight
In all kinds of ways.
Removing the bits
That once brought such pain,
Trusting it to survive.
I'll never be whole
The way most people are.
Maybe it's better this way...
In not having the privilege
Of casual belonging,
Every connection is dear.
Erika Anne Laurentz
December 1, 2015
Your Gift
My darling,
How many poems will begin with “your gift?”
I think, maybe, every one....
Not that I’ll use the words again.
But, words will be irrelevant
When meaning remains.
Sprinkling vulnerabilities into our stories,
Liking you more than I know how to say,
Beginning to fall in love with you,
No longer knowing what that even means.
You talked about “compassion without regret,”
Not bargaining for returns.
Knowing no guarantees....
Offering only my heart
In the wild fall rains,
Under the blessing of crows.
Erika Anne Laurentz
October 10, 2015
Anna’s Gift
(in clearing your plate too soon)
It’s not just that we’d just met
And shared dessert.
It’s not just that we shared
The same plate and fork;
Something usually reserved
For those we love.
Listening to your stories,
Noticing you hadn’t eaten,
Holding the plate out to you in offering,
You took another bite.
Listening to my stories,
Noticing I hadn’t eaten,
You held the plate out for me.
Erika Anne Laurentz
September 8, 2015