Black Lavender
I have an inclination to touch your mouth.
When you speak I can think of nothing.
Yeah sure, I agree.
I have no idea what you are saying but keep talking.
I have an ardency for your demeanor.
And when you are settled into yourself
Is when you are the most attractive.
But this is all subjective.
In reality kismet is work.
They never tell you that.
And love has lost its meaning.
I hate the way it looks on the page.
You’re not in l-v-e.
You’re rushing to an endpoint
That will lead you to the beginning of yourself.
L-v-e is treacherous and omni.
And it will leave scars,
The most beautiful scars
That have the pulchritude of a peacock feather.
You have me. How do you keep me?
In a box or deeply rooted
Like an oak tall and aching for sunlight.
No, in a lavender field
As your hands reach for me and I’m not there.
Ema Bell received her MFA in Theatre from CalArts. She is a poet masquerading as a playwright and a screenwriter. She has written a coming of age feature about a lesbian college student titled Portrait of a Girl. Her short film influenced by her feature, Playing Alice, was accepted into the Chicago International Blowup Film Festival in 2017. She is presently working on a book of love poetry that does not use pronouns. She resides in Los Angeles.
