Saturday, December 26, 2020 - From our poetry archives: “I’ll Follow You” - Jason Koo

Jason Koo’s “I’ll Follow You,” captures the sweet languor felt within the first few hours of the morning light; as a beloved begins readying for the day, and eventually, walking out the door. I like this one as a companion piece for the languor that accompanies Boxing Day: having the balance of an entire year resting within the rearview mirror, while also enjoying the quiet and peace of the week leading up to New Year’s Day ––– it is sweet.

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I’LL FOLLOW YOU

It is sweet to kiss the ear of your kitty
as he sleeps. Sweet to pull the high-top sneakers

off your girlfriend’s feet as she sleeps.
Sweet to discover she is not completely asleep

by the way she lifts her second foot a little
to make the untying easier. Sweet to wake up

to the sound of her silence in the bathroom
as she readies herself for work, touching up her face

as gently as your kitty laps water from his bowl.
At these times you don’t question anything,

what is love, whether you’re working hard
enough, whether you’re not missing something

somewhere else. Life couldn’t be elsewhere.
She comes to kiss you goodbye and rests her head

on your chest for a moment, so sweet to pretend
you’re asleep through this, sweet to listen to her

walk out your door remembering to lock it,
sweet through the hall, sweet through the second

door, through the gate, the sweet of the latch,
sweet imagining the singular sounds she makes

as she moves through the rest of her day.
So sweet you don’t ask how to reconcile all this

with what sweetness you feel alone after she leaves.