pinpricks in black paper sky
backlit by bright prying eyes
darkness stalks a lone streetlight
it flickers in its futile fight
swirling streaks of shadow gray
no sun to scare the clouds away
glowing moonlight as they pass
just as they had been forecast
in the spring another fall
for the stubborn leaves that cling
to the now new budding branches
life pushes death out of the way
fluttering, twisting, fighting
bearing it’s own memory
these lonely strangers fall
once blessed with such a view
they gather in corners and whisper
tall tales from the elusive past
they wander dusty pavement
now slaves to old enemy breeze
settling on some cracked sidewalk
where Jeff loved Jane in 88
imitation immortality
fingers traced in wet cement
love now abandoned to excuses
once blessed with such a view
if i took my turn under the lights
if i wasn’t home on friday nights
if i didn’t always need to be right
would she love me?
if i sang songs on the radio
if i sometimes said i have to go
if i wasn’t scared to tell her no
would she love me?
if i knew all of the latest bands
if i was there to hold her hand
if i was easier to understand
would she love me?
if i had some different skin
if i kept my faults hidden
if we had more things in common
would she love me?
if i was a lion and not a lamb
if i just didn’t give a damn
if i was not who i am
would she love me?
he found her from the footprints in the snow
she ran away but she had nowhere to go
and no lie could be a fitting mask
one look and he didn’t have to ask
with an arm around her shoulder he stayed there
in the silence she knew that he cared
she cried until the tears froze to her cheek
he wiped her face and found the voice to speak
he said “i don’t know what you’ve been through
but whatever’s next i’ll go with you”
she wished she’d never heard his words before
but they’re often said by guys trying to score
everyone who’s held her has told her to lie down
and look for love in between sheets
(where it cannot be found)
but something in his voice closed her eyes
and she hoped for once love wasn’t telling lies
she leaned in to kiss him thinking that would make him stay
he put a finger to her lips and again she heard him say
i don’t know what you’ve been through
but whatever’s next i’ll go with you
if we kissed would you slap my face?
would a kiss be out of place?
if i loved you and told you so
would you fold your arms and tell me no
like a parent with a little boy
pointing to an expensive toy
would you tell me “surely someone else”
“just leave this one up on the shelf”
i’m sure that’s what you’d say
so i’ll shove love out of the way
and trip and fall and crawl along
i’ll hum off-key an old love song
and forever i will pretend
i am nothing but a friend
storms like strobe lights
slide through a valentine sky
every girl i can think of
has a hand upon her thigh
a man to make her happy
at least a reason not to cry
hold the kiss in through the door
stop to laugh while fingers try
to work their dresses to the floor
breathe deep then close their eyes
each girl i can’t let go of
bites her lip and blushes shy
she lays down with her lover
and he shows her how to fly
if i speak all i speak is a lie
i guess all the skeptics were right
can’t believe how hard i have to try
to keep from calling her tonight
i have excuses, i call them fair
a list of reasons i should dial
but of course she’s never there
a distance not measured in miles
if i was sure she was a mistake
the habit’s not so hard to break
if i was sure, then i could quit
and spend forever missing it
i must explain what i can’t ignore
a love that i’ve always apologized for
hope’s in the corner with her fingers crossed
wisdom tells her to get lost
but every night she speaks to me
i used to memorize her stories
like closed eyes over a cake candle wish
like those moments i thought i would cherish
they stalk me like a panther in the trees
waiting until i’m weak in the knees
and when emotion is dry and fake
i wonder what else will it take
for hope to get the hints i drop
but it seems she will never stop
whispering in my ear
words i’ll always want to hear
so the problem with hope, i believe
is she will never leave
dan is a boy with a broken heart
a girl that he loved wouldn’t requite
dan would be offended to hear
the story told so black and white
dan is afraid that he’s normal
for this is the first time he’s tried
people feel this every day
but that fact dan denies
he thinks he is original
like pain is patent pending
dan is boy who still believes
in happy endings
sometimes it sounds like silence
not many words could be as cruel
sometimes it sounds like a siren
or smells like jet engine fuel
sometimes it stings like an open wound
sometimes it’s a numb touch
sometimes it gets more than it’s earned
sometimes it takes too much
and it can seem like a new creation
most of the time it blurs like tears
but there are a rumored few
who have seen it disappear
sometimes it tastes like our own words
at the time we swore we were right
if we are aware of its existence
it will keep us up at night
sometimes it’s celebrated
sometimes it’s stopped with a lie
and eventually most will forget
that it ever was Goodbye