I’ll Leave the Light On

This is a world for the knowing,
and everybody knows
that if we would try just a little bit harder
that we wouldn’t feel so trapped.
yet still we cry baby, cry.

You think he’s gonna carry you home to China?
It’s not like that, darlin’.
It’s more likely that you’re walkin’ blind.
You will be two marionettes
on the Twickenham Ferry.

Where can I go? you ask, trapped,
a woman left lonely in winter.
What you gonna do––let your wedding dress
carry you home to the cold mountains?

Run, baby, run.
Let the black ladder be your museum of flight.
At heart you were always a circus girl, anyway––
that woman on the tier far above desolation row.

When were you happy?
I know you keep me in your heart,
the one who loves you the most.
I am in your mind, In the wind.
The memory of me is better than love.
This is a call–a broken man’s lament.
I hope it will carry you home.

Walk away, Renée. Walk away.
You’ll accompany me.
We can take the long way home.

Today’s prompt was to incorporate 5 song titles into a poem. As usual, I elected to be excessive. How many can song titles can you find in this poem? $10 prize or a free copy of my book to the winner. Woweeeee! You won’t be rich, but just think of the honor.