missing

she says she couldn't find
anyone to love
so she'd rather be homeless for life -
from this quiet town
to that bustling city
come and go as she pleases, never heeding traffic lights

noisy music in bars
lets her forget momentarily the woman that she was
her soul recklessly swaying, she whispers into every ear:
"where have all the good-enough men gone?"

no romance in the making
she can but ride on intoxication to dispense youth
stubbornly holding each gaze
only to discover want of candour on her part also

push open closed doors
dry in the wind the tear trails on her face
then roam wild in early spring through unfamiliar streets
until the world forgets this such person

[11.13 Mon 19-Jul-2004]

Lyrics of a perfectly hopeless Chinese pop song. Yes would ask me to sing it whenever we're alone in my car late at night. I seldom grant such requests, given her tendency to break discreetly into tears at frequent random junctures.