One-hundred. On Surprises:

I planned too far ahead.
Christmas, your birthday.
However, I didn't make it
to February, and some
might call that a victory.

Every few weeks I would stand in the bathroom
before washing my face
and say I love you
into the mirror. I'm a human being
after all,
and occasionally need the reassurance.

I grew up and that's good,
there's something
about earning the lines beneath your eyes,
at the corners of your mouth,
even in the backs of your hands.
In a picture from when we first became
friends, you look younger too.
We earned a lot in those years
when we sometimes neglected
to treat us as we were separate bodies.

I'm dreaming about whales again.
I'm in the water
but I can't touch them.