My Maple Leaf Stranger
It happened for a reason--
I know it did, I wish it did...
Did it?
My roommate thinks fate is a myth;
I ignore her;
She's high on something called a charmed life.
Bus seats are a leap of faith,
Risky.
Lots of people don't know that and I can't
Fault them for it.
The froth on my hot chocolate
Stayed until I took my first sip.
Its disappearance reminded me of you.
Red shirts and boots
With buckles of brass that buckle--
The perfect way to use parts
To identify the whole.
I scarfed down my bagel
Before he had the chance to see me chew
Ravenously, drooling, gulping, spluttering,
My tongue too burnt
To taste the difference between cream cheese
Among the fashionably inclined,
And sesame seeds on common grounds.
This was a date
With a business student--
His black leather jacket
Bending over the side of the couch,
Threatening to extinguish my mother's favourite colour
From the visible light spectrum.
I wanted to cry out loud
"Don't kill the plum, the amethyst, the bee's wax!"
This was a date
With a beautiful boy--
Pulling at his jeans,
So willing to place his ears in my hand,
So willing to match story for story.
I tried to bury my head in a pile of leaves
When it came time to give up truth
In a pretty parcel.
Someone I would climb a ladder to the moon for
Once showed me
Trust is a shortcoming of mine.
It was a date
With a boy
Of decent upbringing--
Who wants to find me in the London fog
On a Tuesday or Wednesday evening.
He called me Tinkerbell,
Said I smelled like Nutella,
Said I had a wonderful smile...
I can't remember where I've heard that before...
I went the opposite direction on unsettled feet,
Put the time around my neck
And watched one o' those good ol' hockey games
In the company of elves and trolls
And candles that always burn out.
Blue jerseys on the ice,
Flicks of honesty on a mint candy,
Sucked me up in one desperate breath,
Had me banging on table tops and laughing
Hysterically
At anyone dressed like someone
I used to know.
I was on a date earlier today
But blue on white
Always brings me back to you.
I know it did, I wish it did...
Did it?
My roommate thinks fate is a myth;
I ignore her;
She's high on something called a charmed life.
Bus seats are a leap of faith,
Risky.
Lots of people don't know that and I can't
Fault them for it.
The froth on my hot chocolate
Stayed until I took my first sip.
Its disappearance reminded me of you.
Red shirts and boots
With buckles of brass that buckle--
The perfect way to use parts
To identify the whole.
I scarfed down my bagel
Before he had the chance to see me chew
Ravenously, drooling, gulping, spluttering,
My tongue too burnt
To taste the difference between cream cheese
Among the fashionably inclined,
And sesame seeds on common grounds.
This was a date
With a business student--
His black leather jacket
Bending over the side of the couch,
Threatening to extinguish my mother's favourite colour
From the visible light spectrum.
I wanted to cry out loud
"Don't kill the plum, the amethyst, the bee's wax!"
This was a date
With a beautiful boy--
Pulling at his jeans,
So willing to place his ears in my hand,
So willing to match story for story.
I tried to bury my head in a pile of leaves
When it came time to give up truth
In a pretty parcel.
Someone I would climb a ladder to the moon for
Once showed me
Trust is a shortcoming of mine.
It was a date
With a boy
Of decent upbringing--
Who wants to find me in the London fog
On a Tuesday or Wednesday evening.
He called me Tinkerbell,
Said I smelled like Nutella,
Said I had a wonderful smile...
I can't remember where I've heard that before...
I went the opposite direction on unsettled feet,
Put the time around my neck
And watched one o' those good ol' hockey games
In the company of elves and trolls
And candles that always burn out.
Blue jerseys on the ice,
Flicks of honesty on a mint candy,
Sucked me up in one desperate breath,
Had me banging on table tops and laughing
Hysterically
At anyone dressed like someone
I used to know.
I was on a date earlier today
But blue on white
Always brings me back to you.