For Keyra

To Keyra, the first great love of my life, my best friend:

I wanted to write you a poem that was just the word "peepiss" repeated an undefined number of times
And then I was talking it over with Denali and I said
"She's the first great love of my life. I am who I am today because of her."
And I realized I probably owe you a proper poem.

Because we grew up and into each other like two trees planted next to each other
Like lichen and algae, feeding each other, shaping each other loving each other

I have books of poems for incidental lovers,
Lovers for a night, lovers who shouldn't have been, lovers who never were
And here you are
The first great love of my life
The friend who shaped me, who loved me, who taught me how to love
Who taught me how to love myself
Poem-less. Not a single poem
For you.

Surely there must be something about the phones calls we shared when I was alone on the road
Something about the way you know every single one of the people I've every kissed
The night we went skinny dipping in the bioluminescent ocean
The years of manicures we painted in your back yard
Sunning our shoulders and legs in the warm yard,
The way I was afraid of your guinea hens
 The way you're the only one in my life (myself included) who can keep track of my partners

My love for you is an ocean
All my lovers combined were a puddle I splashed in
I would drown in the depths of my love for you
I would not think of fighting the undertow

But I did still manage to put the word "peepiss" into a poem for you.