Ode to JR

Your Father didn’t have no heart!
 When he lost his wife
  His heart became a knife
   It cut a hole in his chest
    ’til the day that he died.

Your mother, oh she of great works,
 has a sword for a spine
  She cuts through obstacles
   with power and precision
Never let it be said that she
 lacks the power of decision

So you’re the son 
 of a knife and a sword
  Of course you’re a critic
   With that honed an edge
    What else comes forward?

As for love in your life
 Of course you’re done sooner
  A knife and a sword
   Cut through the half-empty glass
    Before a woman can say
     ’Go to hell’
      and knock you on your ass.

Or you’ll say no first –
 A pre-emptive strike
  and end up with a life
   that you didn’t like.

Time to beat your swords into plowshares
 And put down your gun
  What prize of the heart
   Has your criticism won?

The safest place for your heart
 in all this?
  Could you be redeemed
   By a woman’s kiss?

A kiss that saves worlds
 and lights up the sky
  That bathes your heart
   in soft tunes
    ’til you stop asking why

She won’t call at your door
 or beckon your call
  You won’t find her at all
   ’til you stop looking
    or take a class in French cooking

Somewhere, there’s strength in your heart
 That keeps seeking
  What gives time meaning
As life keeps gleaning
 These moments of love
  of insight and lust
   ’til it’s ashes to ashes
    and dust to dust.

© Denise Schultz 2009 

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