The Girl Who Was Also a Map

 

It was winter when I first met her

I did not quite realize what she was

Because of the cold, she was covered and concealed.

 

Around April was when the mosquitos came

“April showers bring May flowers” was not correct.

The wet spring months brought thousands of the creatures

And she had always been sweet and her warm blood beckoning

So the first bite of the year

Scabbed itself into the shape of South America on her elbow.

 

And after the rain came the haphazard heat

Shirt sleeves slowly crept upward as the months persisted

On her upper arm (somewhere above South America)

Nearly faded into the fleeting summer tan

Dwelled a birthmark in the shape of Connecticut.

 

As I got to see her more and more

More and more places cropped and popped up

 

A peninsula, sort of like an upside-down Florida

Constructed of bumps across her cheek

 

A distinct blotch, red sun burned island on her back

Australia, in the flesh / on the flesh

 

Summer-soft freckles flashed under her eyes

A constellation, a map to buried treasure, morse code

 

It’s like the way some people fall in love with adventure and travel

They love the way it feels to escape and go somewhere else.

I fell in love with the one who can take me there.