Compliments are like window dressings:
eye catching,
ego fetching
One-liners for those who can't think
maybe on the verge
of going over the brink
An older generation
that really should know better
A generation behind
so cynical and blind
that is me to the letter,
fretful and forgetful

In a room
might as well be strangers
no eye contact
talking to another back
out the door
or up the stairs
so changed, so strange
no worries or cares

There is a crack in that veneer
don't get too close
or I'm liable to disappear
this isn't a boast
but outright fear
living a life
quite alien and queer

Do you think it's so easy
to write it all down?
well actually it is
going to go another round
maybe take a walk down that street
climbing up another hill
throwing this body at small mercies
perceived as slightly ill

But who is to say
why it turned out this way?
crossing the line of bitterness
into the folds of dismay
How they reach out to hold
with crocodile smiles
hiding their intentions
that always fall away
after a brief sway

We are dust
only for a moment
that seems like forever
tossed like flotsam
in the changing weather
running hot and cold
in the flickering light
until the eyes grow dim
and welcome the night

mathiasthom
written 1/5/11