The
boy with the heart of steel
© 1977 by Jim Andris
The boy with the heart of steel
And the boy with the eyes of wood
One living in a land of feel,
One feeling much misunderstood,
Went out to look for the love they'd lost in the corners of the night;
The one feeling cool, and the other, so uptight.
They stood side by side by chance
In a meeting that went like this:
The one made a sidelong glance,
The other, a midnight kiss.
"I like the way that you dance," he said.
"Well, I doubt it, but I try."
And the pickup was made with a snicker and a sigh.
But love isn't hiding in a cold walkup flat
Or found on the matress where they sexed and sat.
The silence was broken then.
"Do you want me to leave, or stay?"
Comes back from a mask-like grin:
"It won't bother me either way."
His lonely fear got him out of there, though his eyes did not reveal,
And that's how it goes when you're living in a land of feel.
The other sat stiffly on the edge of his bed
And tried not to listen to the lips in his head.
Instead, reaching for his cat,
He thought on the road to fame,
And, stroking his purring pet,
Said, "You know, it's a long, hard game
But you and I, we'll get out of here and we'll someday have it good."
And that's how it goes when you're feeling much misunderstood.
|