Passing verses

scores of verses

that pass you by

while you look for one

that particular one

the one that you expect most

the one you have been looking for all your life

the one that will finally be your salvation

the shining star in your little grey firmament

the beacon in the dark

the lark on the bark

you think if you wait for that verse long enough

maybe it will finally arrive

and maybe, just maybe

it will be more than your expectations

even the wildest more morbid ones

the ones with all the sex

and the love and breakfast in bed

and lunch dates and dinners

and corny presents on Valentine’s day

with a complementary heart-shaped box

and a mandatory neck piece

these verses, their phantasmagoric visions

never quite manifest

until the day you are finally ready to

breathe irregularly

plug yourself to a beeping life support

and take stock of every single verse

in your life

even the ones that didn’t last long

or lasted a mere stormy night

or the ones that drove you mad with indignation

the golden verse

is either an obvious answer

or an elusive mystery

which

in your last breath

becomes your final submission

to the life of a benign fool

the one that romanced

the soul unicorn a little too much.