when dreams danced

distant and indifferent stars

expose themselves

in a sky that can’t find the crescent moon

 

the break of waves leave noisy evidence

on an unseen

yet not to distant shore

 

the fire pit is providing it’s reason for existence

as the smoke keeps taunting my eyes

that stare at the darkness that should be a shore

 

i’ve mixed rockstar and miller lite

and can’t help thinking

this is going to be a long night

 

i close my eyes against another fistful of smoke

thrown straight into my eyes

and on my lids i see visions of molly ringwald dancing

 

red hair

expressive eyes

and lips that define the reason i would die to be andrew mccarthy

 

i open my eyes and see nothing but darkness

then close them again to molly

while my mp3 plays “pretty in pink”

 

i long

for molly

for a past that no longer exists

 

a day

when dreams danced

just like molly dances in my mind

 

pink top

red lipstick

arms above her head

 

please stop the revolution

that life was going to be more

than peering into darkness

 

now existentialism actually makes sense

even though i’ve read your cabala

your bible, your koran

 

and the only thing i’ve learned

is that every fairy tale is a lie

so why even try

 

let miss ringwald dance

while she is serving a saturday detention

and i will pretend she is all i need

 

to attain the illusion of happiness

which can partially be attained by agreeing with you

so you will just go away

 

every time you say that there is something to believe

only helps me to perceive

that i am the smartest person in the room

 

but back to molly

and the year that was 1985

i thought i could just get behind the wheel and drive

 

and by this one act i could reach a destination

but now thoughts are just an infestation

that swarm over the landscape of my mind

 

now there is nothing left to find

but a way to sit that causes me less pain

and so i live in refrain

 

and close my eyes so i can watch her dance

beauty personified, passion, romance

remembering what it was like to feel

 

to dream, to believe

now i wipe the smoke from my eyes with my sleeve

and know there is nothing but a shore obscured by darkness

 

that poets and philosophers might argue

is not even there

but existentialists don’t care

 

go ahead and dream of molly

or not

it doesn’t matter

 

when dreams don’t come to fruition

it teaches

that all teachings are a lie

 

i can perceive that the bad is good

if that is what i need

that god will provide if i fulfill the terms of the contract

 

act or don’t react

watch molly dance or open your eyes

and see darkness dress the horizon

 

***