I'm going back to begin my education again.

I'll make my start in a ju-co

In some foreign land.

I'll work at a cheesy American burger cafe,

Because I know what burgers are 

Supposed to taste like.

And I'll be so successful at being an American,

That I'll drop out of school as fast as I can

And take over the cheesy American burger joint

And be a star in my own foreign commercials.

I'll give up my scholarship to twirl baton

And hire the drum major away, too,

To be my chief fry cook.

I'll teach him to make the burgers extra fried to a crisp and cheesy.

I'll slap him

With a spatula and call him "greasy,"

But he won't know what that means,

Especially if I smile sweetly when I say it.

Then I'll retire as fortune five hundred's

Top female business owner of the year,

And Harvard will bequeath me a phd

Honorarily, pre-mortem!

And yet again,

I will never have cracked a book!

-jenn

When the day seems to go black,

And you can't see,

You won't have to wonder,

"Where will the ying be?

Where the yang?"

Follow your tongue,

And taste and see

That the primal virtue is good,

That the Tao is very great

And greatly misunderstood

Unless you know the mother

Of the ten thousand things

And her sons.

-jenn

Where do I go when the night swallows me?

I parked the car

And wallowed in the dark

All by myself.

I said I'd be home by ten,

But here I am,

I've never gone in

To the thing I left the house to come to,

But sat here alone

Two hours.

I didn't drink or smoke or chew,

But just as bad a sin,
I listened to the radio

Lost in a daze,

Fantasized the night away.

A month of Sundays alone with you,

I attended only

In my mind.

-jenn

I can't sleep.

Who will come and dance with me?

Who will come and love me down 

From Chinatown,

And run with me?

Chase the paper lanterns and the dragon

Down the street?

Eat the sweet and sour,

Chow mein, or do my laundry 

By the hour and tell me stories

That ratify my brain

To the ancient treaties?

Who will speak the ancient secrets

Of my dark, mysterious love?

Who will assure me that

There is no one above me in the food chain

When it comes to them?

Who will give a damn

That I lie here sleepless, 

Yet, unwilling to get up

And go and watch the parade,

Much less go after it through the night, myself.

-jenn

I've had cookies today,

And now I lay myself down

And close my eyes

And twinkle inside like the sugar

That's hitting my bloodstream.

I see your face before me

As I dream, and tiny sparkles

Pop, and scream with glee

At the fireworks going off

In me for you. 

And when I see you next,

Will you know that such a happy

Reaction occurred within me

Over you, mixed with cookies,

Or will I hide it so well

That no one could ever tell,

Even by pulling back the long bangs

From my face and staring into

The open windows of my soul?

-jenn

When make believe scares you

A little too much,

And real life scares you more,

You can only retreat to your daddy's arms,

And I hear him say he's had cowpox before, too,

And it's painful,

But it will keep you from getting something worse.

Then you look at him and you see a picture

Of someone who has lived,

And you know you're gonna make it, too.

-jenn

You're number one on my list

Of people I like, a lot.

You're the first string, A-team stud quarterback of my heart,

(And you can be my hoss if you never win a race.)

I like your face.

I like your style.

I like that twinkle in your eye,

And the way you raise that one eyebrow at me.

So sit there on the bench if you want to,

Or play ball.

Let kingdoms come and rise and fall,

Or don't.

But you're pre-destined to win,

And all you've really got to do

Is show up,

And maybe grin a little bit.

But the game must go on.

-jenn