Loose Change

He came, he went, 
He conquered her that night, 
Before he took flight,

Chauffered from responsibility

 

Competitive child,

Beneath a fertile chestnut tree 

Even when she tied his laces, 

He did not thank me

 

Swinging her best shot,

He retold his bad jokes,

Side by side on the pavement, 

Lost his phone heading home, 

His tail between their legs

 

She waved him farewell, 
Behind wound-up, tinted glass, 

Could not return, from whence they came,

Open sky would only cause more pain

 

So she took the high road,

With the Laundrettes 

Betting shops, 

With the Orthodox  

 

Bought rollmops for her friend,

As the klezmer band marched on, 

Took the coins politely ran,

Conviction in her hand like change

 

Loose change,

She hears that same refrain,

But loosely changed

 

It lands, you leave,

Regain, recede,

Disbelief suspends the match,

Fuels her every sense

 

He wills her,

Bare nerves worn to the edge,

Scores a bed notch,

Pound of flesh,

Yet swore to return

 

Bound in chains,

We hear that same refrain