By Misti Velvet Rainwater
Date: 28 December 1999

Love on Ice

everyone wants love to be perfect
   and graceful
   and beautiful
   and poised
like an exceptional ice skating couple
    on TV
no one wants to see love
   fall on its ass
   and crack the ice
no one wants to see love
  banged up and bruised
   and bitter because
  it didn't win 
    the gold medal
we all want to applaud love
we all want to see love bow
we want love to lift us higher
but few of us
know how.