Picture

They say it's worth a thousand words

Surely I've used up more than that

Fumbling through the pile of should-have-said

And wish-I'd-asked

They say, "It'll last longer"

When someone's staring

Like when you fixed me with those ancient eyes

For a moment I

Averted mine

And then I faced you back in time

If I wanted answers

Instead of questions

I should have just stayed home

If I wanted easy

Or hoped for less

Or left well enough alone

Then I wouldn't have sat across from you

My practiced speeches flung to pieces

Steeping in this bittersweet elixir

I wouldn't change a thing except

I wish I took a picture

You couldn't be more clearly etched

I shuffle snapshots in my mind

Each more complex than the next

At once confusing and direct

If I wanted answers

Instead of questions

I should have just stayed home

If I wanted easy

Or hoped for less

Or left well enough alone

Then I wouldn't have sat across from you

My practiced speeches flung to pieces

Steeping in this bittersweet elixir

I wouldn't change a thing except

I wish I took a picture

Just a glimpse to prove it happened

For all the other realms in which it hasn't

If I wanted answers

Instead of questions

I should have just stayed home

If I wanted easy

Or hoped for less

Or left well enough alone

Then I wouldn't have sat across from you

My practiced speeches flung to pieces

Steeping in this bittersweet elixir

No, I wouldn't change a thing except

I wish I took a picture

They say it's worth a thousand words