Lampshade hues of lonely hearts,
I was kissed upon a morning star.
Some days I still have the sour aftertaste
Of a time when my love went to waste.

Dizzy neons in rank and file,
I’d stumble some nights between bars for a while.
I remember others that marched without soul
from a time when my fear went to waste.

Scriptures sent from the devil himself,
I lapped up the books placed on the school shelf.
Oh how I yearned for the love of my leaders
at a time when my intellect was going to waste.

Summer has closed, leaves fall like shutters
and I gather them up from the drains and gutters.
Throwing them all on the compost heap
I churn all the waste so I can grow anew.