I Already Know You

Azami and I wrote this poem together based on a poem she started writing about me. We performed it for kids at Mohave High School in Bullhead City.

I Already Know You a duo poem written by Azami and Christopher Fox Graham
Azami	CFG
Maybe I should have warned him	Maybe I should have warned her
that I’ve been through this before
	that this is unfamiliar territory
because I knew from that first moment	but I knew from that first moment
everything about him	everything about her
without having to know anything about him
“I already know you”	“I already know you”
is what slipped from my lips
	I felt it in her hips
but those four simple words
	the way she looked at me
can’t begin to gauge the familiarity	can’t begin to gauge the familiarity
so I stayed	so she stayed
parting with old friends
and being welcomed by new ones
as has become so routine
	moving in within days
	like she belonged here
	and I was the stranger
of my solitary lifestyle	of my solitary lifestyle
to know that I was in love with her mind	to know that I was in love with his mind
it also took one look at the Star Wars painting
	mounted above the bed
and lightsaber adoring his wall
	I bought her one, too
to know that he was a geek
	and she loved it
I don’t have to catch him saying “frak”
to know he’s seen every episode
of Battlestar Galactica
	limited edition box set with deleted scenes
	and director’s commentary
	worth every penny
I had chosen loneliness	I had chosen loneliness
	one-night stands to pass the years
constantly falling in love
knowing that wanderlust
would eventually steal me away
	but she wanted to stay
	wrap her arms around me
	and sleep like tangled vines
so while
I was familiar with the heartache	I was familiar with the heartache
of love lost and found
	of love found, then lost
by the fourth day
I woke up in his arms listening
to the comedic ramblings
of Billy Collins
	Sushi Haiku:
	“Midsummer evening
	alone at the sushi bar
	just me and this eel”
and while we laughed together	and while we laughed together
I silently counted the minutes
wondering how long it would take him
to realize that which
I already knew	I already knew
but I think he figured it out
I think he figured it out	I think I figured it out
when I jokingly asked him to
“please regale me tales of ‘Star Wars’”
and while I rolled my eyes	OK, Han shot first, Jar-Jar is a racial stereotype
and while we cuddled skin to skin	and they didn’t show it, but Luke and Leia were conceived
on some lazy Saturday morning	on some lazy Saturday morning
I don’t have to believe in prophesies
	I believe in prophesies
to understand my human nature	to understand my human nature
so I begin my relationships	so I begin my relationships
with apologies and explanations these days
hoping that if I cover my tracks
it will soften the blow for later
so I begin my relationships	so I begin my relationships
	with coffee and a countdown
	hoping that if she leaves by sunrise
	I prevent the blow from ever landing
realizing that if you live in the moment	realizing that if you live in the moment
you’ve got nothing to fear	you’ve got nothing to fear
besides, I hear broken hearts
make for great poetic inspiration anyways
	my poems about broken hearts
	could fill libraries
so maybe I should have warned him	so maybe I should have warned her
that I fall in love often
	that I never fall in love
and that I’ve seen Battlestar Galactica, too
in the arms of a boy who reminds me of you
I’ve been through this before
	I’ve seen this before
and that same force that brought me
into your life like a hurricane
	breaking all of my rules
will someday bring me to the doorstep of
someone new
	someone new
	will one day fill your shoes
	we can only last so long
	before time parts our paths
	onto diverging roads
the time we share	the time we share
is to learn and teach each other	is to learn and teach each other
learn to love and live in the moment	learn to love and live in the moment
all of this has happened before	all of this has happened before
and all of this will happen again	and all of this will happen again