is it too late to leave
wingless and weighted
more than slightly suffocated
I remember when you simply stated
"I need out"
it was not a break up
it was an offer
my mind spun
wheels whirring
maybe we won't be together
forever after all
I couldn't up and bolt
on me this town had a hold
I was not so bold
as you
the coffee tastes more bitter every day
and here and now
as the wind makes trees sway
I know why you went away
why did I stay
the lights were pretty
I used to like it
when it was windy
but I now realize
why you left this city
Gritty City
The night air filled with
horn honks and voices
Jazz musicians
And guitars
Drowning out all thought
Lights bright and blaring
Flashing and changing
Blinding eyes from the night sky
The air lays heavy
Entering lungs
Filled with fumes
Traffic stops
Even now
I can get there faster by foot
So I walk
In the rain
Wishing to be home
For this city is a wretched place
No friendly hellos
Nor smile or nod
Only shifty eyes and frowns
And now I realize why you left this city and told me never to go
For it is a disappointment
Nothing like what they sell you
Leaving you broken
And washed out
Longing for a way back home
Have you seen the world, son?
What if I told you, you could.
We were in high school
when you signed your life away
That's how I saw it
That's how I called it
Anyway
I scoffed and I railed against you
Insulted your intelligence
Long periods of silence
Your beg me to talk
I was angry with you
But mostly I was afraid
You'd come back in a box
As time passed my
idiotic ideology
Faded as quickly as it had come
And I began to feel a deep lust
For your destiny
In love with the sea
Five years later
And I cringe when I think
Of the way I treated you
It took me a world of time
But I now realize why you left this city.
