click bang the new year rang

i felt for your hand

it was lost in a pocket searching for grandmas locket

a faded picture of her daughter

trapped

welded wings collapsed on themselves giving way to limp handshakes and greetings of insincerity

you were welcomed

just not in the way you desired and time expired on frosted lily time signatures glancing over at us from grandpas turn table round and round my heart couldn’t be found in this profound clouded confection

a rhyming misdirection

more time to counsel our protection

shield up

disarm

drop down and disguise yourself as a sixteen year old lover going undercover to know what the cool kids do

i was street corner wise and casting goodbyes before diners were closing

give me back my childhood

a snickers bar and rotten wood the frame of a bed creaking when i bring you home to visit

i miss you

the mystery

i misused you

the misery

we could start over

give me your hand