Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Every day you drive down my street, through my neighborhood, anticipating the day we'll infinitely meet
I tried to ignore the feelings I've felt since the moment I walked into your convenient store but it ever holds the creative precipice of something more
You stood less than a foot away while I unconsciously held my nervous breath
You were holding yours too
If only we knew
But now we do
The truth isn't always true
Nor is it free for you or me
The wind blew
Scholastics were very few
Punished for an era that never grew
Her encyclopedias aren't new
Faux dictionaries are the fiction of the past in belated mantras that had to last
Even the fire burns out before it realizes why it was lit
The fireplace watches faithfully as grandpa snores & grandma knits
Mom & dad don't babysit when their tireless infants throw a raging fit, left to wonder where they misplaced a generations first aid kit
Burned their fingers when they forget the oven mitt
We've been there
We've done that
Old news is tucked neatly into older hats
Bootlegs
Winnipeg
Old age is something you earn for the sake of the wisdom you asked to learn
Flowers and trees
Bushes and leaves
The oldest trick in forbidden words still suffers the plot it deceives
Forgotten?
Never
Hidden?
As rightfully as its bidden
Good ole darling ridden
You see the warrior emerging from shame
You see the fighter with nothing left to blame
I still don't even know your last name
But I thank God for you every day because this isn't some highschool football game
There are no players
No more cheerleaders to haunt the jocks in old dressing rooms across the parking lot
They found his body on the rocks bound to a body bag stitched up with old rags, tied with dog tags because some still remember the night they were shot for every secret they carelessly forgot
Pierce her scarlet letter with new fangled knots until she morphs into something better
Take your orders
Draw the margin around the recycle bin's borders
You know exactly what it takes to win
Your folly may never be another man's sin
Dolphins eyelashes seduce that grin from fin to friendly fin
My love, please let me in
© Sarah Herring
Copyright © Sarah Herring | Year Posted 2016
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