John & Mary I Became Alone
Cutting squares of cloth from scraps of old dresses
Sewn quilt hanging on the wall
Over there just to remind me
How I became alone
Angled scissors to the life there devoted
Apple branches scent the air
Asking her who hasn't been asked,
Red the colour of her hair
I pulled the rope and it broke,
Laughing startled with surprise
I knew there and then that everything had changed
No good days and no goodbyes
I caught you in the web
You were standing there alone
I could cry but then I hear voices
Just brittle flowers in the wind
I woke the old man sleeping on the rumpled bed
He grasped my hand so tight
As the snow fell silent into the shadows holding breath
Between slanted light
All the boys are now far gone away,
Folded letter by the phone
Watch the mouths move but they're not hearing
I became alone.
