Robin Amy Bass

THE LURCH

I am left in the lurch
Once again all alone
While you’re voice in the distance
When you answer your phone

Sounds alarmingly chilly
With a stilt ten feet tall
And I think – I’m an ass-hole
To have called you at all

I am trying to leave
The dramatics behind
I am offering comfort
To a voice that’s not kind

I’m the first to admit it
But it’s not all my fault
So I tip toe around it
I am forced to pole vault

Over small talk and ice cubes
No account of detail
You are not feeling chatty
And I know I will fail

If I push it much further
Still – I tell you my side
Then I stare at the ceiling
With my eyes open wide

There’s a history between us
Are we bound to repeat?
Have we weathered the storm?
Will we suffer defeat?

It’s alarmingly simple
You will stay – or you’ll go
And I stare at the ceiling
‘Cause I don’t really know