By Hand
Vanilla Soul

Luke, aka "Vanilla Soul," fuses his interests in theater, poetry and social issues to create moving and inspiring Spoken Word poetry.

Contact Luke & experience more of his poetry.

Let us consider
her hand
his hand
perfect pressure
palm surrounded
fingers cradled
in satisfied grooves
walking
arms in a light swing
stay there—
we will not take
this poem
toward a kiss
nor what follows
let us consider
his hand
her hand
place your memory
in the
heat of contact
and remember
how many times
she has sent her entire
heart and histories
through the nerve endings
of your
fingertips
you just didn’t notice…

or that he
could not
speak himself
into full intimacy
so his palm
released those secrets
in the language of tendons
and neurons
and 98.6
so sweetly shared
like a common sun.
He told you
what you wanted

to know
stop looking for
his words
he told you
he spoke his unabridged
bible
into the pads
of your palm
and
she was your Braille
every last moment
is recorded
into the rivers raised along this
skin,
consider her hand
his hand
made from cells
determined to specialize
look at your fingers
and they will
speak to you
and say,

“I love humans this way,
under this blood creek
I am santuaries’ harbor,
bring me maximum risk,
let me know her,
let this woman
be my epiphany
on her terms,
inexplicably complete.”

My lover’s hands are big
unapologetically large
and she has
surrounded me
on more than
one occasion
as if I were
the seed in her earth…

and with hands—

the seed does
not end
but heeds the
laws of irrigation
so this innocence
let us consider
this innocence
begats
the morning star between
us
and our hands
are the tributaries,
the river banks course
and I won’t forget the time
my single
hand
was surrounded by
both of yours
in Braille
in prayer
your palms
and mine.

Let us consider.

- Vanilla Soul

Connections:Coming soon