From the beginning,
You were a toy in a store window,
And I could just barely peek over the ledge
To gaze upon your bright red beauty.

From across the room,
A wink drew me nearer.
Your hair cascade like ribbons off a present,
I’ll push aside drunken fools to find my way towards you,
Your feather eyelashes flutter and blush.
Don’t fly away because your eyes will land on me once more.

Closer,
I can feel your strong arms go limp from intoxication,
Your mouth mumbles and slurrs words you might not mean.
They flatter me all the same.

You are no longer the toy in the store window,
Bright red and exciting
I’ve grown taller since I first saw you,
And now I can reach over the counter
And grab you,
but still I am a child,
With no allowance money to buy you.
I’ll cry to my mother “why?”

Months later,
we still talk about that night,
when we complemented each other,
though we couldn’t see the other’s chest or heart
through the fog of brandy or *****.
We still drink to bring back those memories
Of the heart pounding knowledge of future intentions.

Your arms are strong when sober,
Soft skin holds in muscles that burn
You’ll tell me you’re melting anyway
I’ll insist it’s just the Drugs

You have never intended to be with anyone,
“Don’t want to get tied down,” you said,
“I just want to be free,” you say.
“But you are with me, my lovely,” I said
“I’ll always let you be,” I say.


As the toy, you may be a car,
Rolling down a hill towards the street.
Red and fast, not caring where you’re off to
I’ll buy you after breaking my piggy.