While He May Be Found Poem by Justin Tang

i looked for you at parties
i swam to the bottom of bottles

i looked for you in money
i looked into the eyes of old white men

but the noise of laughter didn't fill me
neither did gossip
neither did beer
neither did money
what kind of bank am i?

so i gave up
and worshipped myself
made a sanctuary of mirrors
expected others to come
but it was so cold
and i lost my way in there
what kind of image am i?


when i discovered you

when i saw you

when i found you

i found myself
and i was whole
i found the answer to my questions
the question to my supposed answers

i found a fighter
who'd teach us to fight
and stick it out in the
trenches with us 'til the war was over
the man with the plan

i found a maker
who'd teach us to create
life out of death
melodies out of moans
poetry out of pain
treasure out of trash

when we discovered you

when we found you

it didn't make sense but,
we found you begging in the streets
rotting in prisons
coughing in hospital beds
and we loved you, and we loved like you
we found you in our arms
suddenly like bundles of joy