I Still Love H.E.R.

I went to the Individual World Poetry slam in 2009, just to spectate, not compete, and I noticed something about the love poems that were being performed, they all sounded the same with the same promises, so I went home and wrote this little ditty. The title, for those that aren’t fans of hip-hop, is an homage to Common (Sense)’s rap song titled “I used to love H.E.R.” , you’ll have to ask Mr. Lynn what the acronym H.e.r. represents.

I Still Love H.E.R.

She told me that she was tired
of men divorced of depth,
that she didn’t want to be
the only one
willing to explore
the Marianas trench*
in her relationships,
didn’t want to be the only one
to risk being burnt
by diving too close
to the center of the earth,
the only one able to handle
the pressure of the crusts inner mantle,
my only response
was that I have no experience
with diving, or oceanography,
and a rudimentary knowledge of geography,
however my understanding
of physiology is constantly improving,
and anything she asks of me
I will happily do;
She asked for emotion,
and I promised her that I would
write her name across my chest,
and her only response was
‘go deeper.’
I told her that I would
get custom made contacts
with her image as the iris,
so that every woman that crosses my path
would remind me of her,
and her only response was
‘go deeper.’
I promised her that I would
inscribe our history on my arterial walls,
using surgical lasers to cauterize
hearts halls with the memory of the night we met,
the smile that danced across her lips
and invited me in,
the joy that gently touched her eyes
as I stepped closer, and invited me to go deeper
and now her response is
‘go deeper.’
I promised her that I would
line liquid lipid cellular walls**
with images from our time together,
so that whether or not we last
she will walk with me
in nine year intervals,***
I’ll fill my mental
with liquid lipid cellular walls
lined with images of her,
and her response was
‘go deeper.’
I told her I would use
electrical impulses
to alter the firing of my synapses,
so that they matched
the perfect rhythmic beauty of her name,
so that my every thought
would be of her,
so that every utterance that passes over
tongue and out lips
would rhythmically match her name,
so that my very language would be hers,
and her response was
‘go deeper.’
I told her my RNA
will rewrite the information of my DNA,****
so that I will carry our history
in my genes,
at the center of each cell
of my being will be us,
and each time the detritus of the world
attempts to tear us apart
it will be my first priority
to make sure that we are whole.
Poetry means this much to me,
so I would like to remind the other
poets who attempt to pen love poems,
that she has been around
for centuries,
that the first lines penned in her language
was probably to win the favor of a female,
and somewhere in those
first hundred years of poetic exploration
are the lines of setting sunsets in iris’s,
comparing beauty to rainbows,
and love, and/or a loved one to heaven or paradise,
so then why are you,
four thousand years later
employing the same worn out
metaphors and tired imagery
when we have so much more knowledge
of how the brain, and body works
and responds to love.
I mean if you really love her
explore her intimately,
know the way she works,
so that you can work with her,
so that you can cherish her every existence,
and if necessary,
always remember that Google™ is your friend,
and reading is fundamental,
because if you really want to help poetry grow
through the infusion of new voices,
it will take an infusion of new ideas as well.

Victor Harris © 2009

* The Marianas trench is the deepest trench on the planet, I do not recall…(goes to Google™)…it is over 36,000 feet deep, mind you Mt. Everest, the tallest mountain above sea level only reaches to a height just under 30,000ft.
**cellular walls are liquid made up of lipid which is the approximate consistency “of a light grade machine oil,” to quote Sherwin B. Nuland
** over a nine year period everyone of your cells will have been replaced, hell every molecule of you will have been replaced.
***I know RNA doesn’t actually write the information on DNA, it is part of the replicating process, and some RNA turn on and off genetic markers, I used poetic license, so sue me.