Autumn Returns

"You're very beautiful", he whispered at the girl on the beach.
"It's amazing how the days just slip away through the unfurling of the weeks"
She didn't speak, or even smile or reply,
he repeated it again but the waves just swallowed all the words alive.
Sandpipers chasing the torn paper edges of the waves.
Another gust of wind paints her hair across her puzzled face.
One of these days...he's going to escape and change the world,
come back to his hometown with a trophy and a girl.
A girl like this with soft hands and a wise kiss,
she'll teach him how to dance and dance her fingertips across her lips.
But this...this is just another awkward pause,
a pretty pair of eyes uncomfortable in front of all his flaws.
He feels himself going bald in little bits and patches,
used to spell out love in them but now the letters come out all backwards.
His pants never fit him right no more, he's forgotten how to cook.
He used to take the room and run but now he's happy with a second look.

Oil pastels. 18 x 24"

I should really take better pictures of these with my camera...