Academy of American Poets Prize Runner-Up

In order to fall in love, you must tear yourself open
And let everything fall to the ground,
And allow another to sift through it.

And you sigh and say,
“This. This is me.”

They will either delight in being elbow-deep in your life—
Your problems, your fears,
All of the baggage you carry now unzipped and free for the taking

—Or, they will run.