Halls of the Dark Muse

Just A Boy

I caught a glimpse of the past
within a figment of the future,
a future which was not my own,
I watch as the distant youths
remain oblivious to the way I have
imposed my indiscretions upon them,
I know nothing of the perfections
and imperfections of their lives,
but even so I know the boy
with rock-star hair,
smoking cigarettes
with Mephistophelean smiles,
he isn't handsome by classical standards,
but he doesn't have to be,
because of the way he laughs,
and how his eyes
drink you in,
the moment he looks at you
the world falls away,
and you alone are all he sees,
but the second he blinks
you are forgotten
and his gaze wanders astray,
every time you are about to walk away
he knows just what to say,
the noose tightens just a little more,
and scarcely you can breath
without his permitting it,
but I digress,
I know these are my phantoms,
and this is just a boy,
a tall skinny boy
standing in the shade
careless and carefree,
he might have a promise
for more than a gutter death,
those he touches
may yet come out of it
unscathed,
maybe even better than they were before,
but I know the ones who are so good
at looking so fragile,
and they know the ones
who need to feel trusted,
who need someone to depend upon them,
who always cradles the bird
with broken wings.