“He picked you out,

He picked you up,

He brought you home.”

—Jeff Manion

YOU’RE MY GIRL by John Blase

In that second I first held you

I sensed you as fragile.

Not like a demitasse that if

dropped would break

but like the peach that will

bruise if not carefully kept.

So that is what I’ve tried to do,

to permit only the irritants necessary

for you to shine.

You must know, my girl, that this

has been and is my happiness.

For you are the best thing that has

ever come into my life.