Romance in Peacetime

Away from the falling candles

Away from the lucky glass

Away from the wine-soaked tablecloths

And the bad news

And the blasts

There we sit on empty dance floors

With the music in our minds

Left of center

Left alone

To be uncertain of ourselves

Now the sunset comes too early

And the sunrise, not at all

We believe in first impressions

Second chances

And third strikes

I have on my old tuxedo

And you wear your party dress

Life’s a dance we never learned

Love’s a trip we never took

Happiness is, well, happiness

A bird calls out

A whippoorwill

A nightjar

At least, that’s what I think it is

Ghosts make more noise than you think

Blessed footsteps

Creaking wood

Are we here or are we not?

Who’s to say?

Why make a fuss?

Lift me up

Onto my feet

I want to try out

These new toes

Is that wind around my hair

Or just the hope of it?

I ply my leg

I pull it back

You sit so softly

Like a child at storytime

I dance for you

You clap for me

I stop

You stare

I drop

You crawl

Around us, wars are ending

And when they’re done

Who will we be?

We’ve had no romance in peacetime

We were built on bombs

And soda walls

Carbonated friction

Caffeinated lives

Living to our own devices

Listening to hearts louder

Than the dead

Won’t we be boring

When all this is over?

Won’t we be heavy

And hearty

And sad?

Like everybody else

That never learned to dance

A dream within a dream

A break within a song

A bird without its voice

A romance without candles

Without perfume, passion, or pursuit

You smother me

And smother me

And smooth me out

So nobody will notice

But it’s too late, you see

It’s much too late

To start another war