Ode to you, who reads these lines

When you come by,
to read these lines of happiness and sadness,
I want to hear the lines
that go by your mind
I want to see if I make you smile
or frown.
I want to know your name,
your full name
and where your name comes from.
You see, my name is a combination,
I have my grandmothers' names
but my mom wanted to name me Florence Lee.
What is the name you almost owned?
Or what name you chose for you yourself and why you chose it.
What does your name mean?
Isn't that a conversation starter?
Mine means "bright" and I'm pretty sure it's German
and the other one is Greek and it means
well-born or of noble descend.
I'm not Greek or German,
no, I come from the middle of the Earth,
next to a dormant volcano.
Where are you from?
I want to know it
and if you can swim.
And if you swim,
I want to know if you've ever been
swimming in the ocean
beneath the waves
above the sand...
And I want to know
what is your favorite color
and if you dream in Spanish or English.
I want to know if you've ever spent the night
looking up the sky,
finding smiles in the stars and with your back
cold and wet from the grass that holds you.
Or have you ever loved someone so much
you pray for them every night
until you fall asleep.
Please tell me, tell me if you ever touched the thorn of a rose
just to see if something so beautiful
could hurt you.
Tell me about your dreams
and your fears
and about the book you're reading.
Tell me
who you are
and if there's a song that makes you cry
or a poem.
Tell me if you write and how you write and where you write
or if you draw instead.
Tell me if you've come here before
or if it's the first time.
Tell me, I want to know, I need to know,
because if I get to hear about you
I might just find in you
some of me.
1-20-07