Measure Me

Measure Me
(From scraps on the dash board.)

Measure me with pie
with hands like a horse
with a protractor
circle me
with the absence
of approval
point me
in the
direction
of next
or blueberries

Measure me
with poetry
published or piled
like primrose opening
only at night
patient in the darkness
drawing goddesses
in the stars

Measure me twice
cut once
carefully
or not at all

Measure me
for a dress
I’ll wear for bald eagles
hiding in the bare Cottonwoods

Measure me for lingerie
I’ll wear only
for new sheets
how pretty we’ll sleep

Measure my blood
for royalty
use a ruler

What are my measurements?
Shoe, ring, pants, hat
size me up
look me up
and down and count
my woes, toes
and chromosomes
measure me

Do I come up
short do I
measure up
make the cut
beat the odds
make the grade
break the code
am I on the charts
or off

Measure deep
like an ego
a history
a throat
a little black book
or cenote

Measure my money
my pocket book
paycheck, Paypal, piggy
bank the stash underneath
the mattress
Queen size
a crown, a peso
Sacagawea gold

Measure all the secrets

Measure me with dust
or their bunnies
in the corners
or just with
bunnies

Or the yowling cats
in heat
in my driveway
waiting to dive
in and make
a kindle
of kittens

Measure me with blog posts
typos, punctuation
pantoums and grammar
stories told
or better measure
me with those
not ever

Measure me by the hair
under my arm
the right one

Measure my joints
the ones made of bone
then titanium
connect the dots
across my body
with permanent marker
track me for surgery

Measure me
like espresso
press the grounds
in fast for a tidbit
a sipped bit
a cup of it
measure me

Like a bolt of bright red jersey
hard to scissor
saw fast and wear it
like satin

Measure me
with pliés, releves
fuentes cha cha cha
rhumba salsa la
la la just
dance

Measure me
by the lumbar lined
down my spine
crooked, crunched
stiff as taffy
a chinked pole
for the roller coaster

Measure me
with wads of gum
stuck beneath the counter
no chewing allowed

Measure the miles
I have put in my socks
for safekeeping
or drawn on a map
show off

Measure me
with laughter
with song
with all the things
I do wrong
then throw away
the scores
and begin again

Measure my IQ
or pounds
might be the same
on a good day

Measure my mystery
my melancholy
my management
of time fame rhyme shame
or just the menu
for Monday

Measure me by the wag
of the dog’s tail
never mind
it wags for anyone

Measure me thoroughly
you wont find dainty
easy, delicate
fragile, fine, subtle
or quiet
maybe
quiet

Measure me by the lovers I have worn out
measure me by the lovers I have worn
measure me by the lovers I have
measure me by the lovers
measure me by the love
measure me, by jove
by Jupiter, by
and by

A lover asked for less strength
a lover asked for more
a counselor suggested more feeling
another said too much
measuring

Measure me by the intensity
of the sunrise I see
measure me smaller
if I sleep through it

Measure me by all these words
to figure all this out
measure me weaker
when I do

Measure me big, gigantic, full, whole
spilling over
don’t wipe me up
measure my puddle

Measure me by the books I read
the tunes I hum but can’t sing
and do anyways

Measure me in the morning
naked and clean
brushed and ready

Measure me as my eyes close
sleep comes easily
full and long with dreams
that is how to measure me

or kindly
hold the scorn tightly
until it is squeezed
out of your fist

Measure me by next
trust my next
certain it will happen
determined it will
be good

Measure me
by the friends
who love me through
weakness and never
measure
me.

Photo by Charles 🇵🇭 on Unsplash