Hard On The edge, Softened But Briefly

Hard on the edge, softer But briefly.

On the hard edge of the world

lies a space just beyond,

and if we leap off that edge

into that void, which is our dreams

we can fall back into a softer time,

when all was a snuggle of love and warmth,

and it is these dives into memory

that refresh us enough to climb back

onto the hard edge of an unbending world again



I knew a hard woman once,

her face was etched with hard lines

and a tight countenance

she walked as if she was under attack

she hunched over her food

and her drink when dining

like a frightened bird

with angry feathers ruffled

I ignored all the sharp angles she thrust out

and sat with her as an old friend to talk

I warmed her with some memories of her past

for I had known her in softer times

we wound up in a bed where she welcomed

my hard line that etched some softer flesh

and it was at her moment of ecstasy

when she came to her most delightful conclusion

that all of the lines

and her hard look vanished

her face softened and

the years dropped away

for just a few minutes

but then reality returned

not more then ten minutes later...

she mumbled something about

thanks for the lift

then scrambled into clothes and out the door

gripped by the hard edge of life once more

and unable to accept that softer side because

it might make her vulnerable again to love.