To Ciara: Rules For Loving

TO CIARA: RULES FOR LOVING Little dark haired one, don’t fall for the first boy to give you attention or pay you a compliment. Don’t fall for the first boy who says he is ‘the leader of a hundred men’; there are many false messiahs. Ciara, don’t fall for the first boy who sings you love songs or writes poems for you, you will know the truth by the undertones; follow your instincts, they are there to guide. Don’t fall for silver-tipped words. Irish jewel, jade of the Isles, don’t fall for the first boy to make promises, actions speak louder than words. Your autonomy is a gift but when disenchanted it becomes a wall, a curse. Don’t fall. Don’t fall. Don’t fall, innocent girl, for the first boy to bring you shiny things, a far greater beauty shines in you, a power unaware. Value kindness over the things people call precious. Keep your enthusiasm in high regard. O, Ciara, whose name is whispered across mountain valleys, don’t fall for the first boy who brings you flowers on the first date. Don’t fall for the first boy to show you his rose tattoo; please don’t fall for him… Oh, sweet woman of a thousand names respect yourself enough to trust yourself enough to let go of the rope and fall for the one who writes the melody for the song in your heart… fall for the one who knows the geography of your soul because they are his maps, too… fall for the one who speaks the language of trees… fall for the first boy who brings flowers everyday and grows gardens in your eyes. But, Ciara, at least once in your life fall… for a heart that has not loved fully is a rose that never blooms. NOTE: the real Ciara who inspired this poem has gone on to become Miss Canada 2017.