You

I'm ready for you now.

when i see you
i know not to wait for fireworks.
I'm ready for the silence that will follow
in the rocket's place.

I'm not expecting much.
I'm ready for that too.
ready for who you wont be.

I'm ready to be patient
while i sketch out
the perfect you
and iron it onto your face.

I'm ready to peel away that pattern
and see that-ah-yes-
you've turned out a fine first draft of you.

I'm ready to outline your features and
line by line
to cross-hatch your shadows.

I'm excited for the day
when ill take
my perfect eraser that doesn't smudge
and reveal the highlights where the sun touches your cheeks
and the lights in your eyes

I'm ready for the hard work that you will take.
and I'm ready for the grand unveiling...

ill decide one day that you are
as good as i can imagine you will ever be.

that's the day ill stand before you and view you
with the critical eye that all artists save for their own work.

ill know where you could have been better
and also where you are perfect.
ill feel a bit more perfect myself for having created you.
and also a bite more flawed
because Ive given so much of me to you
and you turned out nothing like i planned you would.

Ill run a finger or the back of a brush
over the lines of you
and smile because i know that all along
you've been painting me too.

I'm ready for you.
I'm waiting for the blank canvas of you with open arms, rinsed brushes and colors
that ive chosen before knowing you
a palette of paints Ive mixed the way i like them.

I'm ready for you now and whenever you re ready we'll begin.