Why She Loves Him
she seldom would admit to him the reasons she was
attracted his way (not necessarily in this order):
looks, hair, tone of voice, content of his conversation, body
scent, his infectious smile,
manners, kindness & ideas. the drape of his clothes,
the quietness of his intentions & interior, care for
others, the questions he asked,
his understanding of multiple realities, his culture &
politics, his insistence upon paying for dinner,
movies & music while dating.
he is unpredictable, well-traveled with a large
mind & is unpretentious. the way he smiles
at children & gravitates toward them,
his advocacy of extended family, love of exercise,
walking, love of land.
he doesn’t smoke, drink, do drugs or sleep around,
does not think it right, necessary or safe to have sex
on the first, second, third or fourth dates,
he feels that birth control is his responsibility too, clean, loves
to visit bookstores, libraries, farms,
museums and art galleries, read books,
quarterlies and magazines that have more text than
pictures. adores visual art, music, movies, and theater.
respectful of women’s dreams and vision.
he doesn’t eat meat, fish, chicken or dairy products.
productive and economically independent,
not jealous, mentally and physically sound,
an intense caring lover and yoga practitioner. the
spiritualness of his utterances and
his presence quiets her.
the way he communicates without words is precious, and
she knows the exact location of his heart.
–Haki R. Madhubuti
Copyright © 1998 by Haki R. Madhubuti. Reprinted from the book
HeartLove: Wedding and Love Poems published by Third World Press
with permission of the author.
