The course we choose to follow
As we wander through our lives
Will reach the same conclusion
When our given time arrives
My preference of afterlife
Would be to take a look
At the the things I've never heard of
On the path I never took

**

I've owned a host of curios
And trinkets in my day
Acumulated gadgets
And devices in array
But one singular item
Has remained a loyal friend
I'm positive I'll have it
Til the very bitter end

I've nothing in my pocket
I've had it from the start
And though I try to run from it
We're never far apart
When everything goes rotten
If life leaves me bereft
I always have my nothing
My friend when nothing's left

There's a sizzling giant that skips through the sky
While she nods at the people below
Now, a nod and a wink would be kinder, you'd think
But a nod is as far as she'll go

As she prances and bounds over sun-smothered grounds
She's the cause of a squall and a bluster
But no smile for the sodden, most recently trodden
A nod is the best she can muster

No weapon she fears, not the muskets or spears
Nor the arrow set loose by the archer
She dances her dance, an unyielding advance
Then a nod and a lazy departure

At the back of the stage in a gloomy wee room
Where the cockroaches eat what the rats don’t consume
There’s a table enveloped in paper and grime
On a carpet now lost to a happier time
With a cast iron typewriter, rusted with age
In the gloomy wee room at the back of the stage

And under a lampshade of nicotine brown
Sits a comical legend of zero renown
How he plugs at the keys of his rattling beast
The years of persistence have left him decreased
Now he’s stuck in the shade of his hovering doom
At the back of the stage in a gloomy wee room

His words are for others and too, the applause
Though a standing ovation might cause him to pause
He hasn’t the courage to speak them aloud
For he’s lacking the bottle and shy of a crowd
So he captures the laughter in lines on his page
In a gloomy wee room at the back of the stage

No more poems, thank you;
I think that I'm done.
My notebook's half empty,
And apathy's won.

Please turn off the music;
My songs are all sung.
I think the night's over,
Although it's still young.

No more words, I beg you;
Just slice off my tongue!
They're just wasted air,
From a withering lung.

I've no more left to say;
Time to blot out the sun.
My notebook's half empty,
And apathy's won.

She changed
He noticed it in her eyes
The last time he acknowledged her was
before he left
When fresh tears came out her eyes
When she dedicated her love to him
But no matter what she did she couldn't stop him
from leaving
Her eyes held sadness and love
That he had never seen in anyone before
The kind of eyes when someone betrays you
This time
Her eyes had fire
And as he stood and looked at her
Her hair and the wind
Her eyes and the sun
This time
This time he saw her worth
Her love
Her strength
But this time she was strong enough to fight
Strong enough to say no.

Somehow I thought it was forever
I can see most of the faces, can't recall all of the names
But the pictures are right there, in my mind
Each and every one, of course, now they're just
Pieces of memory
Every curve of their lips, the feel, the taste
Smooth, pouty, moist,
Now just
Pieces of memory
First glances, eyes caught looking
Then blatantly staring
*******, invading, capturing
Now just
Pieces of memory
First dates, sometimes awkward, sometimes flawless
Sometimes it ended quickly, sometimes you caught the sunrise
Those were the best, when you watched the sunrise together
You never wanted it to end
Now they're just
Pieces of memory
Dancing, moving together, hand in hand, body in body
Colored lights, mirrors, more lights
Music you got caught up in
Whatever it was, you got lost in it
It seemed to just go on and on
And then
It's just
Pieces of memory
Every "I love you,"  all the hand holding
The deep looks into eyes, everything that was whispered
Promises spoken into a trusting ear
Plans that included forever
Carnivals, Parties, Movies
Vacations, Holidays together
Meals with families whose eyes smiled in approval
And of course there was the infamous
" Why don't you stay here tonight?"
Or the ever popular  "Let's go back to your place"
Then there was at least one or two or even three or four of these
What do you want for Christmas?
What would you like for your birthday?
Where are we doing for Thanksgiving this year?
And now, now I can see your face
But I can't recall your name
I can see the curve of your lips
But I don't remember what they taste like
I can still see the way you'd look at me, it always made me smile
I remember that first date but, I haven't danced in years
No carnivals, no movies, don't seem to have time for those things now
                         And that's a shame
Cause everyone needs a good carnival now and again
I guess that carnival is kind of like our love
Pops up out of nowhere and suddenly there it is
With all of it's sights and sounds and bells and whistles
Then you look up one day
And it's packed up and gone
And you don't even try to get it back because you just know
                It's gone
It seems so oddly out of place in life that
Now it's all
Just
Pieces of memory

Take heart -
There's always another carnival coming through  ;-