Me
this slab of oxidized copper
a perfect stranger you've known for years
I put behind what cannot be altered
and set my sights on hoards of beleaguered unknowns
searching for an ailment
Assembling at the makeshift triage
...some call it a bar...
I provide what charm and heart I can scrounge together
on a given day
from the tired, leaky vessel
..still, the haggard seals holding strong
They often find fairness in my bravado
so after cordial nothings
we serve each other chivalrously
playing the games fully-equipped
conversation thermometer
room barometer
and a heart monitor on full power -
..maybe they just love the attention, I could always be mistaken..
..but their finely-tuned eyes aren't missing a moment
psychosomatic minds chomping away
like carnival-quality kettle corn on matinee
*sigh*
Even after donning the weather gear
I often leave unsatisifed
because while I'm fully aware we're all a bit crazy and guarded
so few actively seek the discovery of how the game works..
so few question the craft
so few look for the keys
and ask the honest questions
and really, they're fine with that
Just once
that's all it'll take -
because I'll know when I see the inquisitive warmth of legitimate curiosity in your eyes -
I want to want you
to challenge me..
dare me
to show you
a love that's corroded
yet more importantly, malleable
and if I find your will to be true
and my eyes are satisfied
I promise
that I will stay
when others quietly fade
Bear me the beautiful burden of wielding Cupid's arrow,
rather than existing alone
as the tarnished, aimless slab I represent today
and if so be done, so I begin with you
concurrent anew