Driftwood Poem by Leria Hawkins

Driftwood
Date: 9-06-13

I drifted out, like I drifted in
We were never lovers, never friends
Stuck in a place without a name
Both fighting the demons of our shame
Years and years beneath the weight
Trying to change the hand of fate
But no closer now than we were then
The wasted years, I can’t defend
I kept telling myself the same old lies
Stories that helped the years go by
I kept wishing and waiting for the day
To find black and white, instead of gray
But I can’t change your jaded heart
I failed to reach the tender part
You’re too tightly bound by kindred law
To break the chains or scale the wall
Your heart’s too cool, to fancy free
To accept the fire that burns in me
We’re so very different, yet so alike
Always floundering between, what’s wrong, what’s right

Night after night I’ve lain awake
Trying to pretend it’s not all fake
Just dreaming with my blinders on
Penning rhymes to right my wrongs
It’s so much easier to just pretend
Than admit the truth of where we’ve been
Or to own the vice that keeps me in chains
It’s a destructive force I’ve failed to rein
Sometimes I wonder why I’ve cared at all
So tired and weary from stumble to fall
I’ve picked myself up, time and again
But I’m never quite able to fully stand
We both know, we’re past our prime
There’s nothing between us but dirty lines
My heart’s no longer in the game
But I hold no fault, and I cast no blame
Baby, you know I’ll have regrets
We’ve too much past, to ever forget
But I’ve drifted out, like I drifted in
We were never lovers…never friends

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Copyright © 2013 Leria Hawkins, All Rights Reserved