SPECIAL : You Can

SASHA MARTIN

This poem is about the physical aspects of love (Hugging, kissing, foreplay, sex, what have you...) v. the emotions ("I love you"), and the time it takes to realize between lust and love. This is copy righted, please be respectful of that. Enjoy! 

You Can

So when we’re lying down,

getting goose-bump rashes

from the damp grass

caressing our backs

and legs

and arms,

watching the clouds accumulate,

and then drifting off-- smearing watercolors.

You can kiss me.

And when it's summer,

so the ground is too hot to touch

with my bare feet,

and you're safe in your torn-apart shoes,

so you have to carry me

and my blistering toes

across the expanse of cutting,

burning gravel

a Fakir would have liked.

You can kiss me.

And when we’re listening to your i-pod,

to the song we both like,

our song,

and you accidentally

pull out my ear bud

because you’re moving

and we both laugh,

and then

we hold hands,

sitting at our bus stop,

waiting.

You can kiss me.

And when we’re resting

silently,

trying to maintain our steady breathing,

peering at each other

and waiting for the rain to stop,

as we take each other’s hands

and slow dance 

to the pounding of water droplets

on the park cement.

You can kiss me.

And when we’re walking

down the street,

and all the men we pass

stare at me

and cat call--Ow, ow!

--Mamacita 

--Hot damn!

and you get jealous,

and all hot and bothered,

and I assure you

by holding your hand,

so that the attention from

passing men

fades into a backdrop.

You can kiss me.

And when we’re doing homework

together,

but not really getting any work finished

because concentrating is impossible

when your foot brushes mine

or when my soft,

soft

wrist

makes brief contact with your elbow

as I’m adjusting my melting position.

You can kiss me.

And when we’re playing

an intense round of Badminton,

and we’re both pretty good

but we both know you’re better,

so you win.

You can kiss me.

And when we’re hiking

on a sizzling summer day,

and you’re carrying our lunch

even though I really did offer to carry it,

and we sit at our destination point,

rocks about a cascading waterfall,

and you wonder aloud what it’d be like to jump

and I tell you to be careful,

and you laugh and run at me,

pretending to push me

into the falls

but really holding on to me

tightly.

You can kiss me.

And when you say goodbye-- “I love you” 

and I smile back, “I love you too.”

You can have all of me.

The Woman Behind Unleashed and the Words                      

   I am a Practice of Art Major and Creative Writing Minor at UC Berkeley. My passions are writing and the arts in general. I created Unleashed for the empowerment and enlightenment of women everywhere. I am the editor, designer and contributing writer. I truly hope this magazine speaks to each and every woman.  Sasha Martin