I thought I caught a whiff of your perfume
While running errands yesterday in town;
With equal joy and heartache I assume
You're back once more to find another clown.
But maybe that assumption's too severe --
'The same clown once again' is more exact;
Since after all, each time you reappear,
I eagerly reprise my sappy act.
I'll think of sunny times we used to share:
The picnic lunches, strolls along the beach --
The times you stood me up, and didn't care,
Are banished out of recollection's reach.
I'll jump each time you blow a kiss my way,
And feel as though I'm floating on the breeze;
But all the love you'd give to me today
Won't mean tomorrow you'll not be a tease;
You're hot, you're cold, you're every kind of weather,
And not of any consequence to you
Are all the plans I make for us together --
I might as well just write them in the dew.
My friends demand I be more resolute,
That I'm naive to think this time you'll stay;
They're arguments that I cannot refute,
But fools rush in, and that's my part to play:
I'll hate myself, and hate how well you know me;
I'll be as weak as every time before,
As grateful for whatever scraps you throw me --
Oh damn you, March, come toy with me once more.
Brendan Beary