Sweat stained walking

Sweat stained walking

Counting the steps

Everyday rituals

Holding the ragged edges together

Breaking into the future

Ripping through the fabric

Bordered with threadbare dreams

Barely visible

Between the lines of old songs

Anthemic bombast

Hollow waffle

Mellow vibes that say more about yesterday

Than the lines on a face

Which may follow a sequence

Of age-related changes

Micro inspection revealing

More than subtle differences

In symmetry

How many disappointments does it take

To displace one side of a face

Down in the mouth

More than a phrase to feature

In a depressing sob story

Reflections are mandatory

In spite of a forward trajectory

The past keeps pace

Nobody walks by a fork in the road

Without a glance over the shoulder

To catch a glimpse

Of the other side

Salad days in avoidance

Bitter fruits and wilted leaves

Always look better in a basket

Offered as an accompaniment

To the main course

That never satisfies as much

As memory improves the taste

Of everything your mother used to make

When all was eaten

So as not to cause offence

To the starving

If there was a chance

To start again

How much would change

When the choices to be made

Are still the same

Exotic childhood dreams

Bloody nightmares and Jungian archetypes

Will always be stored

As a double feature

Alongside the file labelled

Wish fulfilment

Meets truth or dare.