She learned the ropes to hear the bells sing,

chimed before her time.

 

She climbed the ropes to hear the bells ring,

and heard them toll.

 

She rehearsed  her parts;  acted out her roles,

timing her peals well

in theatres of grand displays,

moving on to see the world, just a short distance away.

 

Too long - not far enough.

Re-visited they weren't the same.

 

She lingered a while and savoured

memories from a past

flavoured sweet and sour

and imagined how it might have been

had she stayed a little while longer.

 

Not one to live for regrets

though sadness may have some effect,

she cannot adapt for them

yet she cannot stay as she is... out of place

as a slot machine in a church doorway.

Polished as brass can be

with the scratches of time inlaid.

She cannot stay

she cannot linger

she cannot stay

she has to go away

she cannot stay

she cannot linger

any longer,

she cannot..

she can't.