Summer Fling

There was a time when you and I
Blind to the tight hand of life
Would sit in an inclined field
Under an audience of stars
Discussing the worthlessness of life
You would smoke a cigarette or two
And I tried to warn away the cancer
That smile could burn it away
A giggle and a puff, then exhalation
You claimed to be a rebel
It was nailed down at the time
No interest in school or authority
Then there was me, angelic by comparison
Ready to obey anyone intimidating enough
You knew that and took it with stride
My tattered goddess from across the tracks
All chains rust and break away
I won't bother with the mundane details
Five years ago it was a personal apocalypse
But the world still breathes softly
Sometimes when I smoke a thought is born
That beautiful face in teenage mold
“What if?” tattooed on the forehead
It's brushed to the side, forgotten
No use to dwell on ghosts
You could be swimming in the sewers
Frolicking in heaven with the perfect man
It all means absolutely nothing to me