I must be saved (Madeleine Peyroux)

Invisible man

Standing there
by the bar
holding your gin
silently watching
people near and far
all those anonymous faces
a gorgeous smile
a funny grin...

you hover above
you observe
and you accept
with melancholy graveness
the fact that no one sees you,
no one gives a toss.

You may be ignored
between these walls
but outside
your convertible awaits
to take you home
where there is love
along with all the comforts
anyone could wish for
and you're the boss.


So, why is there a trace
of longing and sadness
in your gaze?
Is it something
that you left behind?
Or something that you chase
and cannot find?

Furnace

That statement of yours -
Oh my... -
It really did ignite something inside!
I only wish that these flames
could be allowed
to burn wild.

But how can you decide
in advance
whom you're going to spend the night
thinking about?
Don't you know thoughts
are commanded by whim
as well as will?
I have no doubt!

But then again,
if you succeeded in harnessing
your mental activity
according to the plan,
I hope that your emotions
got the better of you
and that the next time we meet
our fire hits the fan.

Happy f...cking birthday

It's been months
And I'm still not over the rejection
the frustration, the pain
the anger
- pure rage, I would say -
that all I felt and said to you
was in vain.


But being far away,
not hearing from you,
not knowing what you're doing
or with whom
was definitely helping.


Now, my f...cking birthday
had to come
and make you send me f...cking wishes
for it to be f...cking happy,
just like that,
out of the f...cking blue.


Really?


Now I feel like I need
several f...cking years
to get a grip on myself
to dry these tears
and start anew.

And the irony is this:
Even though you don't want me
and even though I'm f...cked enough
I'd still rather be there
feeling lousy
f...cking you.

Mirror, mirror

Mirror, mirror
on the wall

tell me, please,
will I keep standing
if my certainties crumble
and my principles sprawl?
Will I endure,
maintain my poise,
or will I have to kneel
and crawl?

Mirror, mirror
on the wall

when all my desires
conspire to seize me
and allure me
with their call,
will I then be able
to look you in the eye
even if I feel
like risking a fall?

Mirror, mirror
on the wall

Will I remain serene
and civilized
as I blow it all,
will I be appeased
or come to break you
into petty little pieces
the day my reflection
releases me

from this chain
and heavy ball?

The hardest challenge

There are many things
that limit our actions,
you said,
but many more
that challenge us.

And I drew a new strength
from your confidence.

My love for you
 grows in inverse proportion
to the time we have left,
you wrote.

And I drew a strange comfort
from that blow.

Miracles happen,
you used to repeat.
Tsunamis too.

But waiting
simply waiting
wouldn't do.

So, the courage you lacked
to change your life
I took
and changed mine
for you                              (...?)


But perhaps the hardest challenge
the most impressive strength
lies in resisting
remaining
like you do:

unchanged
unfulfilled
wanting
but unwilling
to make your dreams
come true.

No

No, I am not going
to write a poem
this time.

There's no point
anymore
no reason or rhyme
to lay out my pangs
in a neat
verbal line

to polish your ego
make it shine

to appease the desire
to make you mine.

On the beach

Engrossed and thrilled
we were both drawing
beautiful shapes
on the smooth, wet sand
with our witness
the sea.

The textures and lines
we created together
felt like the very bonds
that drew us closer
as we became at once
united and free.


But all of a sudden
you stopped,
stared at the pattern
and declared:
«This is pointless!
The tide is coming in!
What a mistake we have made!»

Then, with rational madness,
you erased our fancy world of fantasy
and walked away towards the shade.

To the redmoongrabber

How gratifying,
my dear,
that you should enjoy wandering
through this forest of woe
that you feel compelled to decipher
these intricate lines
that I sew
once in a while.
How lustfully exciting
to feel the caressing presence
of your eyes all over my body

(my skin is made of words,
you know...)


But on these strolls
of your wise, ethereal fingers
on the surface and the depths
of my powerless being
perhaps you don't see
as much as you think you do.
Control is just as vital to me
as it is to you.
However,
the utmost pleasure
comes from yielding,
not from holding sway.


And grabbing,
by the way,
makes a lot of sense.
It all depends
on the pair of hands.

Twenty per cent

The scenery
–however charming–
had a touch of melancholy triteness to it,
moon above and sea below.
It matched the inevitable presence
of clichés in our words,
I know.


« I'd say 80% of my relationship is fine.
That’s why I hold on, you see? »
You just smiled,
seemed to understand.
But teased me right away
about your trip the next day:
you’d be flying a plane to Brazil…
wouldn’t I like to go?


Tempting.
But let’s take a train
somewhere else instead,
so I stay down on earth
and you're not in control –
I should have said.


And as we kissed politely
for a second
there was an accidental touch
of breast and chest.
Then we parted,
of course.
And I was left to fantasize
about the rest.

In the back seat

Someone's driving
I don't know who.
I only hope
This trip will take me
somewhere new.

There is a mirror
where I could see
Their bright glance
And find out
Who they might be.
But outside
the racing landscape
is mesmerizing,
so I avert
the truthful eye
that criticizes me.

And here I go
Unawares
of my own fate...

As long as someone cares
to be my keeper,
Being a hostage
cannot bury me
any deeper.