As Sad As Mine
I guess there comes a time in life
When you turn that corner
And come face to face with yourself
And you think: How did I get here?
Where am I going? And who am I going there with?
You stop and catch your breath
And realize that no one’s watching
No one notices if you’re late or lonely
And that there are no love letters in the mailbox
Or unwritten on the keyboard.
Life has just slipped away
Hurried by like a night train
To a distant city, full of passengers
That are all asleep and do not see you
Standing in your doorway.
Today I saw a couple holding hands
And I burst into tears
I thought: I used to do that
And I looked down at my hands
And they were empty.
Today I heard a song
And I thought: I used to sing that
There was always applause and always an ovation
But now there’s no song
And no one to sing to.
Where did my life go?
What happened to the love I planned for
But never found the time for
Or the right person or the right heart?
But there was always room for the wrong.
Tonight I sit in moonlight on the porch
Lonesome as a train whistle in the dark
I hear an owl call out: Whoo. Whoo.
And I whisper back
Who indeed? Who indeed?
Lonely lasts forever, poets tell me
There is no cure but love
And no cure for love but death
I never knew how much I needed both
Until this moment dawned.
There was a face this morning
There in the market, that caught my eye
We exchanged glances that lingered
And looked away and wandered back
And a tiny ray of something blazed up.
Could it be? I wonder now
Is there someone out there in this night
Wondering about the spark that ignited
This morning
Wondering if the face of love was mine?
I’ve turned that corner now
To the place where you come face to face
With yourself and your need and your loneliness
When all your busy life has come to a standstill
And you see hidden things that you never saw before.
Listen to that train whistle, will you?
I feel the porch tremble as the engine roars towards me
The light cuts through the darkness
And I stand up to see the lonely face of a passenger
Pressed against the window, staring, with a smile as sad as mine.
©by Voo
Oct 25, 08
11: 43 p.m.
