You were always there waiting
For a patch of blue in a storm cloud
So you could smile even as it rained
Because you knew then that what you waited for
Was not a dream but the water that cooled your mind

You felt love before you left him
Just to save your skin before the tree branch fell
And broke into pieces washing ashore at last
Into your parched living room to rest
So you could stitch the dead leaves into your past

In a dream from which you never could awaken
You reached and called a number that never rang
Because the line wasn’t connected to anything
But an erstwhile lover you sat next to on a broken sofa
As you wondered if he would ever know the song you sing

It’s not the thought of real love that hurts so much
But the empty hands of companionship that caresses
Your life and who you are because of all your losses
And the chance you had to be held at night
As the birds teach us to sing a lullaby with our own voices*


Copyright 2011. All Rights Reserved. Mark Lecuona