Second Encounter

I walk inside,

You're sitting at the bar,

Coffee cup half-empty

Contemplating your cigar.

I'm all out of breath,

Found a meter nearby,

I just drove for forty minutes

And you ask me why?

Can't you see that in your presence

I'm a teenage mess

With a slightly elevated

Level of distress?

You can tell your pretty women

That they stand a chance

'Cause I have no expectations

Of a long romance.

I'm beautifully ready for my seduction scene

But you get the point and ask me to come clean.

"Little girl, you must be tired, carrying all that greed,

How completely uninspired is your frantic speed!"

I don't know how to persuade you

That I'm worth your time

'Cause I fear that my beauty

Won't last past my prime.

Now I know I'm superficial

And I don't make any sense,

And you question the foundation

Of my innocence.

Contradiction and illusion -

They go hand in hand,

It's a pretty lonely job

To make you understand.

In my mind it's all so simple

Yet the words collapse,

I'm suspended in thin air

As you say: "Perhaps..."