Page 19 of Love You Like That

"I ain’t know love ‘til I faced the mirror. Didn’t trust no kiss that ain’t tasted fear. I was raised by silence, bred by the block. Heart like a vault with a permanent lock. But then she came through like a midnight hymn. Soft voice, hard truth, love on thebrim. Told me my pain ain’t something to hide. Kissed all my wounds and slept at my side.

I been touched, but never held right. Told truths only under dim light. But she saw me clear in broad ass day and I ain’t run. I asked her to stay. So if you here tryna love and survive, know real don’t come in a filtered archive. It comes when you naked not just in skin but when you let somebody in."

When I finished, the room exploded with snaps, applause, and hushed murmurs of “damn.” People stood and a couple in the front wiped tears. That poem? That was for Yaya..

As I stepped off the stage, people clapped me on the back, gave me daps, and shouted praise. But then I saw Nina as she approached again. This time slower and more intentional. “You meant every word of that, didn’t you?”

“Every damn one.”

She nodded. “You’re not just a poet. You’re a vessel. A voice.” She reached into her purse, and pulled out a sleek white card with gold lettering. “Let’s talk, Ezra. What you’ve got? It shouldn’t stay local.”

I looked down at the card.

Nina Foster

Talent Director – Meridian Verse, NYC

And just like that, a new door opened up.

“Y o uh a v e n ’ tb e e nto Sunday dinner inover two months, Yavanni.”

My mother’s voice came through the phone sharp enough to slice through the thick fog of my exhaustion. I pressed the speaker icon with one hand and fumbled through my bag for lip gloss with the other as I power-walked down Talbot Street.

“I know. I’ve been busy.”

“Too busy for your family?”

“It’s not that,” I sighed. “Clinical’s been on my neck. I’ve been studying, and working twelve-hour shifts, and one of the peds kids coded. I’m tired, Mom. I’m just trying to stay afloat.”

She went quiet for a second. That guilt-trip silence she’d perfected years ago. I could practically hear her folding her arms on the other end. “So… you’re not just avoiding us because of some man?” she asked, her voice dipped in suspicion.

I almost laughed. “Wait, what?”

“You heard me. You sound different. That dreamy, flustered thing women do when they’re in love or about to be. Your father said you were glowing when he last saw you.”

I rolled my eyes, crossing the street. “Daddy told you that?”

“Yes. We think you’re distracted.”

“I’m not having this conversation in the middle of the sidewalk,” I muttered, spotting the restaurant up ahead.

“So itisa man.” I paused. My throat tightened unexpectedly. I wasn’t sure how to respond, so I didn’t. I just exhaled slowly. “Stay focused, Yavanni. Graduation and your exam are quickly approaching.” And then she hung up.

I spotted my girls before I even made it to the hostess. Erin was in the back corner, wearing oversized shades indoors andsipping something pink with a straw, while Dianna waved both hands above her head like I was a long-lost cousin at a cookout.

“There she is!” Dianna yelled as I approached. “Late, glowy, and mysterious. Sit your ass down.”

“Hey strangers,” I grinned, sliding into the booth.

Erin pushed her glasses up and leaned in. “No. Hey you. Miss Poof! Vanished on us.”

“I’ve been drowning in nursing school hell,” I said, flagging the server for a glass of water. “And my parents are on my back. I really haven’t had space to breathe.”

Dianna narrowed her eyes. “But you have had time for that fine-ass poet, huh?”

I smirked. “Here we go.”

“Because you disappeared into some love story like a Pinterest post!” Erin accused. “And we haven’t had updates in a while. I feel like I missed a whole season of a show I was binge-watching.”

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