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Writer's pictureTin Can Poetry

Hey, You By Joseph Marshall

Hey, you

It must be the most personal phrase of endearment 

So simple and unimaginative

No nickname, no play on words

Yet it carries a mountain of affection

Buried so deep in subtext; geologists are at a loss


Only one person in the world gets to call you that

In tender moments of intimacy

Tucked timidly together under bed sheets

Or the first message you receive when you're halfway round the world 

It can hit you like the prick of a needle; delicate

Or thump you straight in the chest from its runaway momentum


Hey, you

Special, unique, confident, unwavering solidarity 

Said in a way that only you would appreciate

The impact feels staggering 

The subsequent words trail behind, pitiful in comparison

Admittedly, I didn't think much beyond the opener.

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