her face a bold echo of all she left behind
a slow symphony of nasty things that linger in her mind
she lives them over and over
in the off color technical vision
of an artist trying on her own guises for a adventure
the night crawls over her thigh
lodges in the warm wet of her fingers
and spreads into the windows
grey fades into black

the slow devolution
into the jaundiced eye
into the nicotine stained tapping fingers as she impatiently
waits for words that can never be spoken aloud
the slow desire for tears
so deep and immediate that its a bible to the lonely soul
and her senses deny you
even as you touch the door
even as you evaporate down the hall
melt yourself into the humid night
so fair is her face that you live each of thouse seconds in dire regret
so fair is her touch that you must lean on your last breath
to let go

the night crawls
in her bed clothes
laying its fetid eggs
like a stain of pollution tender and sickly sweet
its insect face bitter staring from her soul
now i see you

you escape over and over
door
hall
humid night
door
hall
humid night
but you never leave

narrow her eye jaundiced and rancid
lay open for the world to see and be seen by
and she molds him to the stain of her hurt
deep impressions over the years leaves him little room to
wiggle wiggle worm, wiggle wiggle worm

alone in the mirror of her minds eye
alone with the trail of thoughts leading off into the night
she feels a moment of desperation
can she find her way without him
can she know the right from the wrong
and will she ever feel that way she did ever again
can she feel that burst of heat and light
that burning hot love and passion

alone she steps into the darkness of all her tomorrows
and though the air feels light and crisp
she breaths with such tender care
with such trepidation
the symphony of changing feelings flow thru her
in this moment
both tears and smiles
hurt her features and brazenly flow from her eye

deep and wide
the day
she pauses at the sound of footsteps
the city draws back to reveal
the emptiness it contains
nothing is something no-one needs
and she has discovered its face benith all the dreams
she once held so dear

heartbeat sure and quick
breathing slowly now
her soft wet lips works over the words like a prizefighter
each landing of syllable defeats fear
each  narrowly placed thought sheds light on the unknown
and she comes to the edge of realization
steps slowly into resolution
that to find a way
she must release regret

he cannot return to where he was
he too has traveled this night
and while one may indeed replace ones footsteps
you will never tread them in the same way twice

all the poster perfect girls like her
are out in the field chasing firefly's
old men from the town look on with awe
they pause in collecting
all the eyes upon them in mason jars
to resell on the boardwalk by the seaside
to the tourists so they will only glimpse what they
will want to sightsee

you tell them that you had borrowed
your buick and a rose colored jacket
from a ribald singer from the ancient city
and her beard confused you into believing
that her favors are something rare and fine
like bone china from from Florida south coast
but its just semi-naked co-ed selling cookies
under the guise of a better world
one donation at a time
she sings softly to you
please mister lean in a little closer and make
all the world a better place

all the world is watching or so it feels like
and your step is light and full of imagined stars and sparkles
as the couple in the next room violently kiss
they are into the world and to them
the world is into them
laugh as hard as you can
laugh till you cry
the world takes no notice
she sings softly to you
please mister lean in a little closer
and comfort thouse who need it

the night is full of people
out strolling and laughing under summer stars
and a penny whistle player keeps the tune going
while she sings a ballad she heard in the far west
and dont it seem like nights like this are so perfect that
you could wrap em up and send em out for Christmas

the poster perfect girls all fall asleep
in a soft warm pile benith the moon
and you unload your burdens and lay there too
in the beautiful company
as the penny whistle player turns to a stronger tune
that gives you dreams of the sea
of the time you spent nailing Captain Kidd to the floor
and now hes one of your best friends
this life is a dream
and while its not always what we'd want
it never gets dull
she sings softly to you
please mister lean in a little closer
and make the dream true