The Pretender

The Pretender


Strut with false bravado
Sure to catch their eye
Flash your Cary Grant persona
As you slowly pass them by.

Who’s your victim this time,
Falling for your game?
Her aspirations, fears and hopes
As incidental as her name.

Pray the in-crowd notices
With her draped upon your arm
Alone corrupt her innocence
With coy, pretentious charm.

Sell yourself just to impress,
Brag of a prowess you’ll never possess,
Break everything around you
You strain for that sound
In the backseats
And heartbeats
That you knock around.

And you treat their dreams like playthings
And you drop them without care
Beneath your three ring circus tent.
As you juggle them in the air.

Then light those taunting shadows
That fill your silent home
Believe nights of broken promises
Beat sleeping all alone.

But when the doors close behind you
And your darkest night sets in
The only empty space inside this house
Will be the one that lies within.



Intellectual property copyright Barry O'Shea. All rights reserved.
Do not reproduce without permission.  Photo credit here.