Why do you argue with me,

when I tell you how beautiful you are?

Why do you roll your eyes and say,

“No, I’m not.”

as if I have no idea

what I see with my own heart?

You turn the stereo up

so loud a deaf kid could dance to it,

miming the lyrics with a provocative sneer on your lips

dancing like there is nothing else in the world

but you and the music.

The curl above your forehead,

bobs like the top-knot of a quail on the run,

your eyes are smoky and sparkle at the same time.

You can deny it all you want to,

but you had better believe

I know what I am talking about when I say:

“Darlin’

You are just as cute

as a bug’s ass.”

This poem appears in Naughty Nuts and Bolts, a Creative Talents Unleashed anthology, available from Amazon.com