EX

These two pieces are related - originally part of one whole but then separated (seems fitting haha)

When I told my mother
Ive never met anyone
Who could keep up with me
She told me:
Stop running.

When I called her by her first name;
The way I always do - always will,
And told her with plain words:
Im not running—
Just walking
While everyone else lays down
She laughed.

And its raining – almost x-mas;
Emphasis on EX because
We dumped the Jesus Christ out
And replaced him with light trees and
Presents that last about as long as love
And that’s never very long these days.
Honestly, this season brews atomic bombs in my gut
Then sets of mutant chain reactions in my head.
Why?
Because everyone gets so nostalgic
About whoever they’ve loved since last year—
And it makes me sick cos
-They all dropped and broke
Like fine china hurtled to stone floors.
Hey!
Realize this:
Our hearts are that stone tiling
That china?
Yeh, its true love;
Crippled and codependent
And it’s so one-dimensional.
But it’s the prettiest thing
You’ve ever let slip by.

© Liam Elliott 2007. All Rights Reserved.

---

When I got home today
I found a new message from an ex-lover.
You know the one: the girl you loved
Fervently briefly then
Threw on the floor and walked out
Into the blizzard.
And I won’t lie to you all
That yeh, I looked back
And yep. I kept walking.
Now its 2 days before what would’ve been
A one-year anniversary if I hadn’t
Aborted the mission halfway
(And I don’t regret leaving)
It was inevitable
Like burning the bridge
Back to a broken home.
So I,
Home now with this message
A lurking shadow in my dark,
Sit here mother’s words ringing:
Stop running
Stop running.
But Mum, it’s the only way
This world keeps turning.
So, I do what I do the very best
Run
Its why I live this lonely life.
Don’t feel flattered, honey—
There’s enough people
That I have cut from my life to fill
A big smiling peace loving country.
This just works best for both of us.

© Liam Elliott 2007. All Rights Reserved.