two poems in a gastropub

lines

You said once
that I had to draw a line in the sand
and work backwards from there.
I couldn't wait for what I wanted
to neatly fit into where my life was going.

I want your line in the sand
to be me.

------------------------------------
return on investment

return on investment was
the poem I was trying to write
to convince you to
see me through to the end.

It was exhausting.
Trying to persuade you
without begging you to stay
or alarming you
with the depths of my attachment.

I don't want to have to walk the line
between how much I love you
and how much I think you love me.

I was writing a poem
to convince you that
I could earn you a large
return on investment,
and was worth your continued affection.

But I don't want to beat around the bush.
My heart is already racing from too much coffee
and I have work to do today.
What I mean is:

I love you
and

I think we can do this
for a long time.