Loose Change

He came, he went

He conquered her that night

Before he took flight

Chauffeured from responsibility

Competitive child

Beneath a fertile chestnut tree

Even when she tied his laces

He did not thank me

Swinging her best shot, he retold his bad jokes

Side-by-side on the pavement

Lost his phone heading home

His tail between their legs

She waved him farewell

Behind wound-up, tinted glass

Could not return from whence they came

Open sky would only cause more pain

So she took the high road

With the launderettes

Betting shops

With the Orthodox

Bought rollmops for her friend

As the klezmer band marched on

Took the coins, politely ran

Conviction in her hand like change

Loose change

She hears that same refrain, but loosely changed

It lands, you leave

Regain, recede

Disbelief suspends the match

Fuels her every sense

He wills her, bare nerves

Worn to the edge

Scores a bed notch, pound of flesh

Yet swore to return

Bound in chains

We hear that same refrain