November 12, 2012: Rudy Francisco features at Beltway Poetry Slam and performs "A Lot Like You"

Beltway Poetry Slam at The Fridge
516 8th Street SE, Washington, DC

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I was told the average girl begins to plan her wedding at the age of 7
I was told that she picks the colors and the cake first
About the age of 10 she knows the time and the location
By 17 she's already chosen a gown and a Maid of Honor
By 22, she's waiting for a man who doesn't break out in hives
When he hears the word "commitment"
Someone who doesn't smell like a bandaid drenched in lonely
Someone who is more than a temporary solution to the empty side of the bed
Someone who will hold her hand like it's the only one that he's ever seen

To be honest, I don't know what tuxedo I'll be wearing
I have no clue what my wedding will look like
But I imagine that the woman who pins my last name to hers
Will butterfly down the aisle like a 5foot promise
I imagine that her smile will be so big that you will see it on Google maps
And know exactly where our wedding is being held
See the woman that I plan to marry will have champagne in her walk
And I will get drunk on her footsteps
When the pastor asks me if I take this woman to be my wife
I will say yes before he even finishes the sentence
I'll apologize later for being impolite but I will also explain to him
That our first kiss happened six years ago and I've been practicing my "yes"
For the past twothousand, onehundred, and sixtyfive days

When people ask me about my wedding, I really never know what to say
When they ask me about my future wife, I always tell them
That her eyes are the only Christmas lights
That deserve to be seen all year long
I tell them, that she has a walk that can make an atheist believe in God
Just long enough to say "Goddamn", I tell them
That if my alarm clock sounded like her voice
My snooze button would collect dust
I tell them, that if she came in a bottle
I would drink her until my vision is blurry
And my friends take away my keys, I tell them
That if she was a book, I would memorize her table of contents
I would read her cover to cover, hoping to find typos
Just so we could both have something to work on
Because aren't we all unfinished, don't we all need editing
Aren't we all waiting to be read to be someone
Praying they will tell us that we make sense?
She don't always make sense, but I swear to God her imperfections
Are the things that I love about her the most

I don't know when I will be married
I don't know where I will be married
But I do know this
Whenever I'm asked to describe my future wife
I do so as best as I can
And every single time, she sounds a lot like you
And every single time, she sounds a lot like you