Once Upon a Time Poems

She Left as She Came

Maybe it was a drastic attempt
to enter a drained bar
wearing a skirt hemmed
above the knee,
but she was never as miserable
in her life.

Maybe it was the wretched phonies,
clamoring in the corner
under a lamp dimmed and blue
like a dead sun,
or the way the bartender
unfolded the dollar bills
to make one lame drink stumble
in her throat.

Maybe it was the absence of heroes,
or she lacked a story to tell,
or she unwound
same as the threads
of her shawl…
who knows?

Suddenly, she left
through the neon door
with a wreath of holly,
and the season ended before it began,
just when she was ready
to believe in hope
without a single good luck penny.