i fell in love
with someone so beautiful

i didn’t know

what to do
with my hands

or my time

where to sit

or if i even could
sit still with that knowledge

i fell in love
with someone so beautiful

i felt my neck
growing tired with the weight

of this proximity to beautiful
that would remain without me

that came about without me
imagining the possibility of us

i fell in love
with someone so beautiful

i cannot speak this
into the ineffable absolute of us

yes some people would promise
you complete me

when you find me lying there
you lay yourself over me

and everything else disappears
in the relief of bearing you there

i fell in love
with someone so beautiful

i lost myself in the uttering
i found myself in the uttering

—P.L. Thomas

You don’t even notice me at all

“This Isn’t Helping,” The National

in his negligence
many people were hurt

over the course of many years
when his negligence waned

he began to wonder if
every man’s autobiography

should begin with
“in his negligence”

he wanted to apologize one by one
but the project was daunting

the neglected covered over everything
like every breath he took

so he wrote about it instead

the things we outgrow
when we can no longer
keep our footing on the ice
of our own selfishness

—P.L. Thomas