She wanted
to turn around and walk back
to the time she first said yes instead of no,
smiled crooked smiles
and spoke in opposites
so that true emotions didn’t show.
She must find a way to let stifled tears flow.
She thought
climbing the years to reach this age
would have been less exhausting somehow;
with the simple adjustment
of a word or phrase
life could be very different now.
She vowed that she would never again allow
this attempted assassination of her soul.
So if you care to ask, she’ll gladly tell you today
that the final chance
to reclaim lost time,
to throw some of the wasted years away,
would be the perfect gift for her birthday.
Copyright © 2002 Christine Magee • All rights reserved.