Conversation for Your Coffee & Love Playlist (With a Poetry Mix)

You should have been there.

We talked of heartbreak, romance, slow jams, and slow dancing. We discussed lust and extending time as a gift and a demonstration. We gave props to Dr. Helen Fisher and were impressed by formulas and chemical reactions.

Mothers make us sigh, cry and smile – so do our brothers and sisters.

Folks spoke of truth, forces of nature, magic, and religion. You should’ve been there. It was fun, sad, exciting, and silly. We chatted about longing, poetry, and politics.  We listened to stories of disappointment, dope-ness, and sweetness. We just talked about love.

And we agreed that Pablo Neruda might channel Cupid and that he continues to be a muse for Valentine-thinking. And, the fine Mr. Neruda even made an appearance:

If You Forget Me

I want you to know

one thing.

You know how this is:

if I look

at the crystal moon, at the red branch

of the slow autumn at my window,

if I touch

near the fire

the impalpable ash

or the wrinkled body of the log,

everything carries me to you,

as if everything that exists,

aromas, light, metals,

were little boats

that sail

toward those isles of yours that wait for me.

Well, now,

if little by little you stop loving me

I shall stop loving you little by little.

If suddenly

you forget me

do not look for me,

for I shall already have forgotten you.

If you think it long and mad,

the wind of banners

that passes through my life,

and you decide

to leave me at the shore

of the heart where I have roots,

remember

that on that day,

at that hour,

I shall lift my arms

and my roots will set off

to seek another land.

But

if each day,

each hour,

you feel that you are destined for me

with implacable sweetness,

if each day a flower

climbs up to your lips to seek me,

ah my love, ah my own,

in me all that fire is repeated,

in me nothing is extinguished or forgotten,

my love feeds on your love, beloved,

and as long as you live it will be in your arms

without leaving mine.

You know we also traded songs.  We put together the Conversation for Your Coffee & Love playlist:

Fools Rush In – Several versions but we’re partial to Frank Sinatra’s
I’m Yours – Jason Mraz
Dangerously in Love – Beyoncé
Nothing Can Change this Love (One Night Stand Live Version) – Sam Cook
Marry Me – Train
Lucky – Jason Mraz
My Heart Will Wait – Joe Brooks
The Light – Common
Over the Rainbow – Israel Kamakawiwo’ole
Sideways – Citizen Cope
Just Haven’t Met You Yet – Michael Buble
Nothin’ on You – B.o.B featuring Bruno Mars
Killing Me Softly – Fugees
Brand New Love Song – The Pillows
Can’t Help Falling in Love – Ingrid Michaelson
I’d Rather Be With You – Joshua Radin
Diamonds and Coal – Incubus
Love Hurts – Incubus
Dance With My Father – Luther Vandross
Ribbon in the Sky – Stevie Wonder
It Never Entered My Mind – Miles Davis
Come What May – Ewan McGregor & Nicole Kidman
What Gets You Off – Jack’s Mannequin
I Just Called To Say I Love You – Stevie Wonder
A Day to Remember – Heartless
Hanging By a Moment – Lifehouse
Zion – Lauren Hill
Bad Romance – Lady Gaga
You And Me – Lifehouse
Amazed – Lonestar
True Colors – Cyndi Lauper
You And I – Ingrid Michaelson
Bittersweet Poetry – Kanye West
Tell Me It’s Real – K-C & Jojo
Hometown Glory – Adele

Dancing – Elisa
Golden – Chrisette Michele
Rock With You – Michael Jackson
Selah – Lauren Hill
What a Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong
Old Old Fashioned – Frightened Rabbit
Stardust – Nat King Cole
They Cant Take That Away From Me – Billie Holiday
Such Great Heights – The Postal Service
A Case of You – Joni Mitchell
Skinny Love – Bon Iver
Boogie Shoes – KC & The Sunshine Band
Just the Way You Are – Bruno Mars
Sentimental Mood – Thelonious Monk
Alive With The Glory of Love – Say Anything
You And Me – Penny & The Quarters
Get Down – Curtis Mayfield
Stray Italian Greyhound – Vienna Teng
Do You Realize? – The Flaming Lips
Can’t Find the Words – Karina
These Arms of Mine – Otis Redding
L-O-V-E – Nat King Cole
The Way You Make Me Feel – Michael Jackson
The Way You Look Tonight – Frank Sinatra
Someone Like You – Adele
That Home – Cinematic Orchestra
Falling Slowly – Glen Hansard
The Book of Love – Peter Gabriel
Say Hey – Michael Franti
Never Change – LCD Soundsystem
The Space Between – Dave Matthews Band
First Day of My Life – Bright Eyes
Middle Distance Runner – Sea Wolf
Your Song – Elton John
Unchained Melody – Righteous Brothers

And, anything by Marvin Gaye.

Another great poet sums up last Friday’s conversation:

So Enchanted With You

I like
Boiled turnips
Boiled potatoes
Boiled rutabagas
with butter
and sea salt
But not every day

I like
Fried Virginia flounder
Fried sand dabs
Fried smelts
But usually only on Friday nights

I want
Drop biscuits
Miniature Parker House rolls
Extra thin white bread
When I uncharacteristically
make a sandwich

I like
Garlic straight off the vine
Anchovies anytime
And good red wines
’cause I’m too old
to drink cheap

I like to pound and grill my veal
I rub my beef
In a special chili mixture
I really don’t eat
anyone else’s ground meat

In other words:
I’m Normal

So this is the question:
Why am I so enchanted
with you

Nikki Giovanni