Bonjour, Mon Ami Poem by Leria Hawkins

Bonjour, Mon Ami



Bonjour, Mon Ami
Date: July 23,2013

It was there…
In third period French
My first taste of neurosis
Spreading like strawberry jam and wild fire
Sweet, but hot on my tongue

Out of nowhere…
As cut and clean as stainless steel
All heat and rakish charm
My spotless hands sullied in a flash of blue
My house burning with unseasoned fire

I stood bravely at the bluff, took a heady dive off the cliff
In a wink…I glimpsed tomorrow’s downy dreams
Littered with idiocy and pubescent flames
Where I was a fish…a mindless ogling fish
Boldly pretending not to stare

But, I was wide-eyed, already on the line
Caught…by clever hooks and naïve thinking
An ache piercing the blood of my youth
And like a hairpin turn, curling back upon itself
…a Machiavellian sign, branding me for another time

And, I was game for the bite, was sewn up tight
In strings of make believe
I was floundering with no real might
So I let it fall away, no persuasion, no sway
As I had no reason to fight…no reason, no right

I turned the page, set out on a revolving stage
Only faced my vice, maybe once or twice
Sometimes in a look or in a midnight dream
Always vague, never quite as it seemed
Just a hiccup…a flashback with an echoing theme

And the oak grew tall, from spring to fall
….the French was long forgotten
Then it came again, in a whispering wind
With fervor raging within, searing my skin
It shook my soul, swallowed me whole

This time, it challenged me, called me out…
And I bent, and bent and bent, to its mockery
Until the final straw, broke my fall
And the heart in me, said let it be
What is…“to be…or not to be”?

To this I say…Adieu, Mon Ami…

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Copyright © 2013 Leria Hawkins, All Rights Reserved
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