my
old lover in a grocery store
The snow was falling Christmas Eve
Stole behind her in the frozen fruits
And I touched her on the sleeve
She didn't recognize the face at first
But then her eyes flew open wide
Tried to hug me and she spilled her purse
And we laughed until we cried
Two cool groceries to the
checkout stand,
and food was told up in bags.
Stood there lost in our embarrassment
As the conver sation dragged
Went to have ourselves a drink or two
But couldn't find a milk and bar
Bought a six -pack at the liquor store
And we drank it in her car
We drank a toast to incense,
we drank a toast to now
Trying to reach for only emptiness,
the need of one new how
She said she'd married
her an architect,
who kept her woman safe and dry
She said she'd like to say
she loved the man,
but she did n't want to lie
I said the years had been a friend to her,
and that her eyes were still as blue
But in those eyes I wasn't sure
if I saw doubt or gratitude
She said she saw me in the record store
An d that I must be doing well
I said the audience was heavenly
But the trav eling was hell
We drank a toast to innocence
We drank a toast to now
Trying to reach beyond the emptiness
We need a one new how
We drank a toast to innocence
We drank a toast to time
We live in an eloquence,
another rolling sun
The beers were empty
and our tongues grew tired
An d running out of things to say
She gave a kiss to me as I got out
And I watched her drive away
Just for a moment I was back in school
And felt that unfamiliar pain
And as I turn to make my way back home
The snow turned into rain
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