where are you?
it's cold in this heat, and
there's snow in this summer wind
no reason we can't be friends
you said after all this time
all the blood and tears under the bridge
still, it's so sad, those young people
in that washed-out Polaroid picture
no longer exist
at that age
desperation seemed unlikely
you, doll cute
pretty enough for Hollywood
me, staring into the future
I would not share with you
down a blacktop highway
fading into the distance
and not flinching
words mean only what we want them to
but once given meaning, they have power
to destroy as well as sustain
I chose the way of weasel words
bending ways
a whore's way
you did not
memories of you flow through me
like power through a waterfall
as the dizzy events of the last dozen years
present their bill
forgetting may be normal, darling
I'd rather be natural
some memories sound in my head
others turn to script
still others paint a picture in my mind
I allow myself an idyllic scene
my hand in yours, together eternally
no squabbles
no heartbreak
just a long, sweet melody