I did walk
Unknowingly
Into some feud
With a self-appointed lord
Who fought to the edge of reason
Against me
What false fealty, he
Who sought no reason to fight
For me
With then, my One, True Lord
Into some grace
Finally
I did walk
Prison guard, freedom writer
Daring me, “Escape.”
Air mask at altitude
E•ter•nal•ly late
You talked of Boardwalk wood
Dirty scoundrel’s lies
I walked a catwalk strut
Good•bye•ing your eyes
Firstly you called me
Girlfriend one too many times
Then you walked away
Time for talk has passed
September, she’s a-comin’
Love large or go home
Polluted river
Sweet toxicity
Looking back
At bodies
At words
At actions
Poisons me
Mirrored sunglasses
Ripped off
Walk on
Beautiful bride
Walk on
What man, after all, needs to glance up from bed and find gauze curtains with crochet flowers blocking the morning light
When is there any right time to feel the frustration of taking to task offspring, not his own
Why, I ask, would he ask for the bounty of trouble, help, and honest beauty She brings to the table, when there’s plenty of “elseness” on his plate
Who’d wish for a real-live helpmate when the workshed walls are already perfectly papered with such willing hands
Where is there any avenue he’d daydream for a walk, anyway
Oh, love
His eyes ripped from him
His willowy walk stricken
Will bring back my smile
I speak for the masses
The sides of me inside of me
The arrested phases that do not know how to grow
The girl who grew, too tall too soon
Somewhere in there, a woman walks
Head held high, chin and forehead gently jutted
To the sun, she says
And she does
She does love
To do, to be
She questions me
To lead in love
That gives me pause
First steals my breath, then intuits me to question her back
What of the times you sought to love, to befriend
To be a friend, although in need?
They knew nothing of love!
Friendship foreign to them, they offered an attack
An inevitable abandonment
This is life, and you cannot opt out
You cannot, too, jump ship
You cannot not love, friend
She says to me
She strides onward
To the sun
We look ahead at sixty now
The gander, grace-filled
The graceful goose
Silvery fire, calm
Wondrous!
So we wait and keep walking
Flying, when we’re able
But never again bewildered
If we would not be this
We could not be that
Original thought credit: Ms. Joni Mitchell; “Both Sides Now”
