Man With a Broken Wing

I had to look twice to be sure it was you
Crossing the street against the light
Your big coat flapping like a crow with a broken wing
Absently waving at cars that speed by
You came out of my past and caught me off guard
Caught off guard I duck in a doorway
And let you go by then I trail you
While I make up my mind should I call to you
Or let the chance go? When I saw you last
I'd be breathless trying to match your stride
Now your uncertain step tears at my heart
But I fight a desire to be by your side

Ten years ago we would meet in cafes
Drink wine in the afternoon, a heady romance
"You're a man who draws women," I'd say to you
I spoke in that brave and overly frank manner
That very young women use when they first learn
They hold a man's eye but before they realize
They're just being humored, I said
"Women are drawn to your need, to your weakness.
You're loud and you're handsome but you run
On that current of women you draw through your life."
You'd nod as though listening, your hand on my knee
And a vacant inscrutable look in your eye

I spoke for myself of course for you drew me
Against my reason; you were what I was not
And I clove to you for your mystery
And for the resistance that tightened our knot
But I lost you. You left town without a word
It was just that simple and that impossible
I'd walk the streets, I'd be looking for you
And on every corner, I'd see your ghost
And now here you are, and up ahead
The light turns red, I'll go up and greet you
When you stop at the corner…but of course you don't wait
You step off the curb, you're crossing the street

Well, there was a time I'd have plunged with you
Into that river of cars, but today
I stop at the curb. "No," I say,
"The current's too strong for me, and anyway
I've moved beyond that time, I've accepted mortality
And you, you still walk before cars
As though clinging to that illusion even though
Your recklessness has lost its charm"
You look so weak, you're all alone
I'm not unmoved, but I let you go
And the last I see, the wind takes your coat,
Sets it flapping like a hobbling crow

©1991 Annie Gallup