lyrics and poems for songs unsung
One day, after
waiting, hoping and giving up
any expectation, or longing,
I will, unexpectedly, find
a message from you
in which you will,
as would be expected,
be asking for some trite byte
of information, like a lost link,
Or offer a closed, ‘hope your well.’
And I will, finally,
unexpectedly resist
the urge to correct this,
and all the other ways in which
you were wrong.
Before I went to sleep
Before I washed my face
Before I brushed my teeth
Before I found my way home
Before I wandered lost
Before I searched for where to wait
Before I expected
Before I set things in motion
Before the incitement
Before your sly smile
I was asleep
Five little words
could hardly impress
with any duress
but I must confess
like a chess master
preparing for disaster
I’m already five exchanges ahead
and all the digressions
you’ll make instead
of coming clean
And though my head is full
it’s my body that aches
to make up for mistakes
and time lost
in planning petty crimes
and their atonement
the moment we are done
So take your time
and borrow mine
I’ll burrow down
and tow some lines
that I’ll retrace and erase
in case my resolve dissolves
and I fill in the spaces wrong
all over again
This is the time of day
when the light
of inspiration
is replaced by a bulb
of annotations
listing tomorrow’s duties
when petty pinpricks of frustrations
turn to burning indignation
for giving in to expectations
only to be disappointed again
It is the time for rage
to take the shape
of something whittled
smooth and sharp
and be stuck into
our unsuspecting hearts
just to feel them skip a beat
so we’ll recall
why we keep
holding on
I’m a cat on a leash
wishing to leap
into the sky
but will dangle
if I dare take flight
So I try with all my might
to set my sights slightly below
revel in the magic
of my steps as they flow
Still the mist rises again
to gather and protest
like a neglected guest
determined to make
the simplest path a sodden mess
to shout magic’s just a trick
And I’m better off sticking
my feet way down
into the blindly trodden ground
until mud gathers round
and my steps grow too heavy
to complain of the tug
of loving chains
and the constant gently
falling rain
I’ve been the best of all options
A dim second thought
The least of all evils
And better than nought
I want to be
The summit hovering
above the peak
The core whose name
you dare not speak
A necessary evil
An undeniable need
A baited wish
Cast into the sea
Falling short
Flapping haplessly
And dying
on the shore
All that you were for me
I don’t mean to whine
I don’t want to complain
but please send me a line
no matter how plain
to weave into rhymes
Or just some words
however absurd
They need not be kind
or witty or deep
I can fill in the blanks
as I drift off to sleep
and wake with the hope
of something to savour
to add some flavour
No matter how sour
or devoid of power
I’ll twirl them for hours
and make something to keep
the emptiness at bay
that rose up the day
you went away
There is an end after the end
where all expectations
are laid to rest
Where all that has happened
is not for the best
Where nothing’s revealed
and no more appeals
can be made
Where no new beginnings await
You run in circles
between now and the past
’till a trench is dug
so deep and wide
you’ll never cross
to the inside again
So blow up the center
rake up the debris
leave nothing to remind me
of what I once held
but could never be
I stand in a place
where I’ll never again be
I’m looking at you
as I’ll never again see you
Boisterous and swaggering
in your natural habitat
A menu of quick standards
by a filled-in ditch of a lake
You’re bellowing clichés
serving up platitudes
with a side order of smirks
Breaking no ice, nor sweat
Playing the role as expected
to everyone’s content
You own this moment
You own this place
You let in those you choose
A feigned sly smile
punctuated with a wink
seals the unspoken deal
I’ve been here before
And then too I tripped
on your flimsy sincerity
slipped on your strewn lines
Finding footing in doorways
I wait between lies
for you to fumble
humbly to my side
gasping as the narrative fails
And you’ll be gone when I wake
just like yesterday
and again I’ll have made
all the same old mistakes
And I will still miss you
The forecast said sunny
it wasn’t
still, at least it didn’t rain
and it wasn’t cold
but it wasn’t warm either
When at last the sun seeped
through the blanketed sky
the cake had been sliced and shared
wishes dished and smiles dispersed
and the remaining work
set aside for tomorrow
In all, the day was duly pleasant
if not dull
mostly, it was done
And but for the sound
growing louder
of doors not too distant
creaking shut
everything was the same
despite the birthday wish
jotNrot 
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