30 lines

i listen to the phone call that doesn't come

in that secret place a tie has come undone

sad like a silent, littered fairground out of town

gone are the tents, the circus, and the clown

you played me like a guitar that's out of tune

still, i hope the sun shines on my street by june

i've seen dust harden on shards of broken glass

beyond repair is a love that never was

fire flickers and casts its magic on my wall

yet there's nothing here to catch and break the fall

i figure it's an atonement for the sins

of the haughty flower and the little prince

as my glass globe of once-upon-a-times

breaks into the cruel joke of pathetic rhymes

a girl i knew once thought that she would die

the day the mailman wouldn't look her in the eye

the dead, cold iron of an empty barstool

may as well be the birth of another fool

romance is a housewife at a garage sale

she brings home the bargain of a sorry tale

of a two-way street we'd never walk in far off lands

i like snow globes only when they're in my hands

dry and fragile as crushed leaves beneath your feet

is a heart on journey that is long and bittersweet

hurting like miles of grass that's trampled on

with the gnawing pain of parting long forgone

empty bottles, melted ice, and one good laugh

i'll pull this off and put my mask on fast enough

you wouldn't know, and i'd forget those cherished times

if only i hadn't written in 30 lines