This Is a Poem.
It is for you.
It didn’t exist before this moment
at any time before
anywhere in all of space.
It is a poem for you
who did not ever exist
in all of time and space
until you became uniquely what you are
from all that has ever been.
You are inevitable.
You had to happen.
There was no other way.
There is no other you.
The universe could not possibly be what it is
unless you are in it
as you are.
You are not incident in an accidental universe.
Knowing you is not, for me, an accident.
Loving you is the natural unfolding,
the consequence of knowing you,
of the steps our meeting took.
I do not know what lies ahead
any more than I knew in the past
what now will be for us.
There are consequences for all things,
including love.
One of them is pain,
despite all its pleasures and rewards.
Sometimes that pain simply follows love
as death replaces life.
Sometimes it’s just mixed in like PB&J
in the jar of life.
I was and am
open to loving you
and being loved by you.
That loving is precious and valuable.
It is clearly what I will miss the most and mourn
when I let go of life.
This is just a poem, words, a thank you note
for saying “I do” to all those touching things
that added so much to my life
and heart and soul.
and letting me say them as well to you
with no regrets ever,
only love and gratitude.
Peanut Butter and Jelly -- Paul Franklin
It is for you.
It didn’t exist before this moment
at any time before
anywhere in all of space.
It is a poem for you
who did not ever exist
in all of time and space
until you became uniquely what you are
from all that has ever been.
You are inevitable.
You had to happen.
There was no other way.
There is no other you.
The universe could not possibly be what it is
unless you are in it
as you are.
You are not incident in an accidental universe.
Knowing you is not, for me, an accident.
Loving you is the natural unfolding,
the consequence of knowing you,
of the steps our meeting took.
I do not know what lies ahead
any more than I knew in the past
what now will be for us.
There are consequences for all things,
including love.
One of them is pain,
despite all its pleasures and rewards.
Sometimes that pain simply follows love
as death replaces life.
Sometimes it’s just mixed in like PB&J
in the jar of life.
I was and am
open to loving you
and being loved by you.
That loving is precious and valuable.
It is clearly what I will miss the most and mourn
when I let go of life.
This is just a poem, words, a thank you note
for saying “I do” to all those touching things
that added so much to my life
and heart and soul.
and letting me say them as well to you
with no regrets ever,
only love and gratitude.
Peanut Butter and Jelly -- Paul Franklin
A PB&J is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. If the peanut butter is not spread on each slice of bread, the sandwich will become soggy if it's left too long to sit. Peanut butter was originally paired with a diverse set of foods, such as pimento, nasturtium, cheese, celery, watercress, and toasted crackers. Julia Davis Chandler made the first reference to peanut butter paired with jelly on bread in the "Boston Cooking-School Magazine of Culinary Science and Domestic Economics" in 1901 but the combination became popular across class lines as the price of peanut butter dropped. Manufacturers began adding sugar to peanut butter in the 1920s, making the sandwich popular among kids. A 2002 survey showed the average American will eat 1,500 of these sandwiches before high school graduation.
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