AND WE HAD SECRETS

And We Had Secrets

(And we had secrets

Like diamonds wrapped in newspapers

Carried under eager arms,

As we ran through our lives,

Hampered not by sun or storm,

To shadows full of bliss.

For it was there

In shadows, gray

That nothing cruel could find us,

Nothing cold could touch our souls

Nor quench the hungry kiss.)

There, in shadow,

The dark unseen,

No illumination shown

Our hands, our eyes

Would find the prize

Our hearts had never known.

Concrete jungles,

Asphalt gardens,

And no bed in which to sleep,

You stole the stars

Out of the sky

And gave to me to keep.

Love letters written,

In graffiti sprayed

On cars and bars and walls,

Two runaways

With no where to stay,

Answering no other hearts' calls.

Two wild hearts beating

Like crippled birds

That don't know that they're lame

We soared and flew,

Just me and you,

So different, yet the same.

We vowed to stay forever

On the streets where we ran free

Hiding from schools and homes and rules

Where we did not want to be.

Homes, where your father

And my father and us

Lived in our lives

Full of hate and mistrust.

But you grew weary

And I grew up

And made my way back home

I left the anarchy of my youth,

And you, I left alone.

Rebellion has an emptiness

And it's voids that you can't fill

But the future calls us from the past

Where the memories live on, still.

I sit behind a law firm's desk

With employees all around me

And I look up and see your face

For once again, you've found me.

A business man

In Armani suit,

With a woman and a child

There in your wallet,

Part of your past,

And my heart goes running wild.

My eyes can't seem 

To look away

And yours can't seem to meet

For if they do, I know it's true

They'll sweep me off my feet.

"So nice to see you."

I hear you say

"Just wanted to say hello,

I've just made partner

And I've got the office

Across from yours, you know."

I turn and look out

Of the glass

Rain splashed, bereft of sun,

I don't know what to do or say

And I don't know where to run.

For running's all 

I've ever done,

For many lonely years

Away from you, away from me

Rebelling back the tears.

They say that you cannot go home

No matter how many tries,

But the only home I've ever known

Lies hiding in your eyes.

And I know that

And you know that

As I turn and try to smile

"So kind of you to think of me,

Won't you visit for a while?"

But you shake your head

And back away

And make a quick retreat

"I've got to move all my things in."

A mistake then:  Our eyes meet.

Slow motion waves

Of memory,

Of days and nights in love,

Running hand in hand

With naught

But Heaven up above.

We drown in loss

And deep regret

In pain and passion's lure

We sink in sickness, knowing, both,

That passion is the cure.

And people stare,

Until we blink

And pull our eyes away

As decades pass before our eyes

Like they only were a day.

No one could know the history,

No one could guess the truth,

That the two of us had ever been

Punkrockgothic, reckless youth.

Now days have flown

Since you've moved in

And caused my life such bother

You're moving up and doing well

Working for my father.

It's funny how our lives turn out

It's strange how things can change

How in one moment all our plans

Come undone and rearranged.

We are so careful with one another

When we meet, we do not touch

We look away and try not to say

What our hearts still say so much.

Today, I came back 

In from lunch

To find my desk, askew

A  graffiti note lay in the mess

Spray painted, neon blue.

And only I

And only you

Could know what that note meant

And only I could know the one

From whom that note was sent.

(And we have secrets

Like diamonds wrapped in newspapers

Carried under eager arms,

As we run through our lives,

Hampered not by sun or storm,

To shadows full of bliss.

For it is there

In shadows, gray

That nothing cruel can find us,

Nothing cold can touch our souls

Nor quench the hungry kiss.)

And we have secrets

And they have us

And at the end of every day,

From my father's eyes,

And to our surprise,

We still run away.

©by Voo

Jan 22, 2012

1:42 a.m.                                 

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                                     Run Away by Jefferson Starship