Selective Memory

Time softens all the jagged edges
The lens is hazy, out of focus
Lay the gauze across my recollections
When I remember what became of us…

Promises whispered, drunk on wine
I’d believe your whitewashed lies
And dull deceptions polish to a shine
Trace my lips with your fingers, smile

Make me slave to your obsessions
A naive girl at your mercy 
Just another trinket for your collection
Love, a lie, sweetness and agony 

Then depart without a warning
Despise myself, knowing I’d forgive you
Empty hours of constant yearning
To start again like something new

When you’d return with total assurance
That I was helpless to resist you
Confident of my acquiescence
You’d break my heart anew

And yet those days, those heady days
Of books and wine and conversation
The nights in your tender arms I’d lay
Then wake in solitude once again… 

So I choose the pieces that I want
Tiny fragments, bring me joy
And cast aside those that haunt
When I was your plaything, wicked boy

Image courtesy Indian Express

Day Tripping…

A little whimsy for a dreary Saturday… From my 18-year old self.

A fish walked past me this morning
Whistling and nibbling a crust of bread
He wore a pirate captain’s hat
Moth-eaten, nearly falling off his head

‘What am I seeing?’ I silently marveled
‘Fish can’t survive outside of the sea’
And the sight of him was so preposterous
That I questioned my own sanity

I decided not to worry about it
The fish was in trouble if he was real
If the air of this world didn’t kill him
He’d become some kitty’s next meal

Forget it, I thought, sit down and relax
I’m hallucinating, but I’ll be fine
I shouldn’t have eaten those mushrooms
But they were so tempting in my garden

Artwork by Arthur Alex Lipsky, 2014