I did not realize
When first I saw the eyeglass case
Lying there, between rows G and H
That these were to be the last moments
Where trust was understood
If the woman had but turned
When I had asked about the case, perhaps then
The crisis would have been diverted,
The car swerved away, the falling boulder missed
And we never would have known
For if I had but known
I would have savored those few seconds
Inhaled their essence, remembered each one
But why should I have thought that everything
Would in a moment change?
Trust is a delicate thing
Its beauty held aloft on angel’s wings
But trust can be broken by even a word
And once broken, it merely lies there, and defies you
To put back the pieces
These lines are ragged, yes I know
Not the usual thing, something else
Something you might have written, in that other time
That time long ago time, not that long ago, or shall we say
Once upon a time
For had the woman turned
When I asked about the case, perhaps then
The crisis would have been averted,
The car swerved away, the falling boulder missed
And we never would have known
How close we had come
To disaster unforetold, to trust destroyed
Its broken wings fluttering feebly, but alas
The car did not swerve away, the boulder hit its mark
And we are undone