If I Love You

"If she loves you," they tell you, "This will be a problem." I am una niña, a little girl- And you are too old for me, Too young to know What you're doing, Too careless to be cautious, Too Hispanic to be safe In a place so diverse that Teenage boys Are always classified by race- You are too beautiful To be resistible. But I promise not to love you. I promise not to need you. I won't kiss you where Anyone can see, and I Won't cry when you leave me- Yes, I know you will, I'm not so young as idiocy- I can be your secret, As long as you are mine... And if I write you love poems... I'll write them in the dark. I'll recite them to the shadows, And no one has to know. You never have to know I ever lied.