Solve et Coagula

Fifteen Minutes With You: "Two Birds" by Andrea Gibson

“Love is the only war worth dying for.” —Derrick Brown

When you ran for the border
I spent three months calling your name
‘til I watched your feet leave our country
and I bunkered down in your cheerleader pajamas
to stare at our photograph
of the two birds.

Two birds.

Give me one stone,
or a rifle.

I’ll collect the feathers from the ground
to make pens
to write poems to Obama.

Remember how we fucked
in the bathroom stall
during his inauguration
at Invesco Field?

Later in our seats
you held my hand and said,
“Look at Michelle. She is so in love.”

There were so many snipers in the stands
when the fireworks startled us in the stairwell
I thought for sure we were being bombed.

For five minutes we sprinted
frantic through the tunnel.

I kept saying, “I love you, I love you, I love…”

I thought for certain I would turn to dust
in your arms.

Dear Love,

I hope your new home is beautiful.
I hope you rise to your feet
every time she sings her anthem.
I hope your hand is forever on your heart.
I hope your heart is forever safe.

Here at home
they are saying Obama is not the saint
we had hoped he would be.

I wonder if you’d notice
that Michelle is still in love.