Silently, she pressed the cigarette
to her pursed lips, eyeing
the girls in the circle, eyeing
her in muted amazement.

This calmed her once -
the dissipation of chemicals
through her bloodstream turning
dry pallid skin to shimmering white silk
and empty thought to pregnant philosophy.

But she was stilted tonight,
lost in recollection of downfall,
and the clock on the wall
kept time with her anxious heart
- only just relearning the
flow and contraction of life.

In this light, they thought
her eyes sparkled with the
flashback of glory days
but if they could read her thoughts,
they'd know she only winced
as a deluge of regret
swept through her veins.

Back then, she was destiny's best customer
- latest and greatest;
she'd watch the sunrise
through tinted lenses and pray
for a miracle in daybreak.

At night, she'd lay face down
in the gutter, her back
bathed in the glow of the moon
as she read the pattern of stars
reflected in the storm water.

But she was never very good
at reversal and inversion
and she never learnt
that backwards love is only
incomplete evolution.

12/27/2003

Posted on 12/27/2003
Copyright © 2024 Karen Michelle