FOURTEEN MINUTES, THIRTYSEVEN SECONDS

Eight hundred seventy-four seconds
In the scheme of life
Not long at all
The second hand didnt stop and
Neither did you
You plunged your way through my life,
My pride,
My virginity
You used my silence
And held my hostage in my own skin
The pictures on the wall
They were fresh and new
a life just waiting to happen
I could have walked away from you
You know I tried
I thought:
Out of reach would be far enough away
You would find a new obsession
I had been it long enough
Maybe you would walk away
But the prize called you back
Touching me wasnt enough
You had to ruin me for me
The mirror is unkind
It doesnt touch up what I see when I look into its eyes
Fourteen minutes
Just long enough to make it last forever
Its been forever ago
Why cant I just walk away
LORD knows you did,
Will you make your time count somewhere else again?
Some other girl
Some other time
Some other eight hundred seconds

June 2001