marc parker

  Posted on September 14, 2014 at 7:07 pm

we used to write about love during class,
while teachers demanded theorems we could prove.

we used to go to the open mic and write
while poets spilled their pain on stage.

we used to claim our greatness in every 5th word,
while insignificant in the high school halls.

two loners filled with passion for the code,
building each other up more than our craft.

how did oklahoma bring us together?
how did we choose each other in the lines of juevenile?
how did a need-in-time become a lifelong friendship?

you gave me confidence before anyone swooned.
you taught me how we never force magic.
you inspired me to become the dream we held.

you listened beyond my presentations.
you’ve listened through all my tornado metaphors.
you listen even when the words
are selfish and lost and difficult
to embrace at 3am.

your gifts have grown beyond your genius.
your writing is the tip of your iceberg.
your life expands mine in ways
that never make the resume.

thank you for patience when I was
consumed in fantasy snapshots.

thank you for understanding
when judgment surrounded me on every stage.

thank you for giving me
what only the rest of my life
can honor.

few know how you
are why I can write this poem
in sitting.

how you are why I am able to comprehend
text that boggles shorter history.

how you are the one
who fed me during all the doubt
that kills most dreamers
before senior year.

no longer about the dream we sell,
our relationship
follows no course set by commerce.

your friendship
worth more than my accolades,
including the tony.

no statue has ever carried me
through such difficult depressions.

thank you for being the example
inspiring my depth.

thank you for always being
a true friend.

and let me add, publicly,
and only once,
you write better than I do.