By Misti Velvet Rainwater
Date: 11 February 2000

Mutual Maybe

how about this
when we meet tonight
let's not talk about
    our exes
let's not compare 
 scabs and bruises
I'd rather not swap
    war stories
don't want to cry
  on your shoulder
because I like
     your shirt
and I don't want to
     stain it
let's reserve tonight
     for magic
anything can happen
if you take my hand
and walk with me
in a general, ambling direction
toward the moon
love could creep up
   from behind
and scare us
   out of
    our wits
you could fall and I
    would catch you
or I could fall and you
    could catch me
or we could fall together
   and not care about
      being caught
purity is still
a possibility
we have both weathered
a long winter
and camped out
on rock bottom
we have watched
the rest of the world
wave bye bye on their way
      to the fair
but I have saved
   some hope
and there are still
vast regions of depth and sincerity
    inside me
that no man has ever
     found
and I know you have some more you
     to share
there is something to you
   no other woman
    has discovered
but here I am
with a brave smile
and a map
and a granola bar
in my backpack
in case we get lost
and you
get hungry