I Said I Love You and It's OK, book cover

The book

I Said I Love You, and It's OK

A Literary and Portrait Study of Platonic Love Between Black Men

The book is finished and available now as a paperback on Amazon.

I Said I Love You, and It's OK is a collection of poems, letters and short origin stories about platonic love between Black men. It's about the brothers and friends who shaped me, by blood and by choice, and the things we never said out loud. It also includes a manifesto and a workbook of creative assignments for readers to try on their own, with artwork throughout.

Paperback by Tre Wilkes

View on Amazon

Read a page

To the Brother I Chose

All I can do is laugh
Thinking of the times we've shared
In the gym,
Driving down the highway,
Making random connections
Between our lives
And whatever TV show was on that week.
It wasn't hard to let my wall down.
We were two sides of the same coin.
You taught me how to dress
How to layer a fit,
How to find my own voice
Inside my body.
I showed you
That the gym could be therapy.
I'm better when we're in familiar proximity.
We share a bridge between generations
When my father doesn't get me,
You're the one
Connecting the pieces
For him and for me.
You encourage me to study
Not for grades,
But because books
Hold clues.
Histories.
Truths.
Our conversations
Are TED Talks.
Mini podcasts that heal
So deeply
You'd think an Orisha
Had pulled up a chair.
We take our shields off.
Drop the body armor.
We joke like elder uncles
Shooting the dozens,
Arguing about
Who's playing spades with who.
We reminisce
Texas.
San Diego.
Arkansas.
You check me
When I don't call enough.
You make sure I know
I'm seen.
Valued.
Loved.
I think you're the best of us both.
I'm honored
To be your brother.
I appreciate
Your grace.
Your love.
Your fortitude.
If I had the choice
To pick any brother
To call my own
You'd always be the one
I chose.

From I Said I Love You, and It's OK

From the workbook

Photograph a Brother

Tied to: To the Brother I Chose / Medium: Photography

Photograph a brother. Not posed, not for social media, caught in the middle of something.

Before you shoot, sit with him for ten minutes without your phone out. Ask him what he'd want remembered about this friendship, if a stranger found the photo in fifty years.

Photographers to look into on your own