Not for children
I.
I love you, Mama. I love you, Baba. I love you, siblings. I love you, cousins. I love you, uncle and auntie.
I love you, Ice. I love you, E. I love you, Wes. I love you, Z. I love you all, my friends my neighbors my colleagues my children my countrymen.
I love you, Bugs Bunny. I love you, Barney the Dinosaur. I love you, Mickey Mouse. I love you, Corduroy. I love you, Curious George.
I love you, Bill Shakespeare. I love you, Chuck Bukowski. I love you, Jack Kerouac. I love you, Jim Baldwin. I love you, Walt Whitman. I love you John Coltrane Jim Morrison 2Pac Ludwig Kubrick.
I love you, coffee. I love you, pizza. I love you, chocolate. I love you, Kilwins Tracks. I love you, Frosted Flakes.
I love you, America. I love you, Chicago. I love you, San Francisco. I love you, Costa Rica. I love you love you love you, Detroit, you piece of shit.
I love you, Astro. I love you, Fordson. I love you, Target. I love you, Barnes and Noble. I love you, DIA.
I love you, ocean. I love you, sun. I love you water I love you waves. I love you tulips I love you grass I love you tree you wind you cloud you rain.
I love heels. I love hips. I love panties I love tits. I love lace I love leather I love red I love leopard I love eyes and noses legs and asses lips and lashes smiles skin and hair.
Baby, I love the tiger in your eye. I love your hair in my soup. I love the frog in your chuckle, your lipstick on my collar, your scent on my sleeve, your dimples your warts your stretchmarks your scars your chubby knees. I love your snores. I love your fire and brimstone.
I love you, Allah. Just love us back.
II.
Forgive us, Alaska. Forgive us, Pacifica. Forgive us, Yosemite. Forgive us, Galapagos. Forgive us, Great Barrier Reef.
Forgive us, cows and chickens. Forgive us, squirrels and pigeons. Forgive us, puffins and polar bears. Forgive us, kangaroos.
Forgive us, Buddha. Forgive us, Christ. Forgive us, Martin. Forgive us, Lincoln. Forgive us, Vincent. Forgive us, Harriet. Forgive us, Mother Teresa.
III.
Lisa, you didn’t love me back and I never moved on.
Jasmin, you could’ve called and said you didn’t want to.
Bella, you’re stubborn. Your ego is a disease. You’re dishonest with yourself and too bitter to let go. Ron, the only thing wrong with your life is you. Jenna, we’re not as scared and stupid as you think, and you’re not as right as you think. Billy, you’re an asshole. I never would have said hello had she not asked me to.
Mohammed, Thank you. He pushed me and I fell and he laughed and you almost kicked his ass and he never bothered me again. Rana, I still have the Christmas stocking you gave me, the only holiday gram I ever got.
George, you saved my life. Alan, you help me sleep. Peter, I think about you every day. You gave me a future when I was lost and alone.
Little boy, I’m sorry. She beat you in the store the street the parking lot and I didn’t say anything.
Kevin, I only bullied you because they were bullying me. Zachary, I’m glad we can laugh about it today. Salma, I touched your butt by accident. Chastity, I shoved you because I thought you were cute. Tiffany Angela Nancy Zena Anna Adell, I didn’t know any better.
Jack a dull boy all work and no play makes.
NOTES
I. Bugs Bunny an animated cartoon character; created by Leon Schlesinger. Barney the Dinosaur from “Barney & Friends”, a children’s television show. Mickey Mouse an animated cartoon character; created by Walt Disney. Corduroy from “Corduroy” by Don Freeman. Curious George from “Curious George” by H.A. Rey. Chuck Bukowski poet (1920-1994). Jack Kerouac author (1922-1969). Jim Baldwin writer and activist (1924-1987). Jim Morrison singer (1943-1971). 2Pac rap artist (1971-1996). Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827). Kubrick, Stanley; filmmaker (1928-1999). Kilwins Tracks an ice cream flavor at Kilwins; Petoskey, Michigan. Astro Coffee in Detroit. Fordson High School in Dearborn, Michigan. Target a retail corporation. Barnes and Noble an American bookseller. DIA The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit. fire and brimstone The Bible KJV Revelation 21:8.
II. Yosemite National Park in California. Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador. Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia. Martin Luther King (1929-1968). Lincoln, Abraham (1809-1865). Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890). Harriet Tubman (c. 1822-1913). Mother Teresa (1910-1997).
III. Jack…makes “The Shining”, 1980.
Yousef Alqamoussi 