A Love Song by S Linkov

Follow me tonight.
Let us flow through backwater streets,
Where lampposts spill puddles of light,
Where the longing heart silently beats,
Let us find an empty cafe,
Order a corner table.
Let us shelter ourselves there, till day
Leads our woes back to their stable.
Let the lurid signs burn away,
Let the voices throng through the cable
Of the two-penny telephone.

We have, in our time alone

Rehearsed our birthdates and names,
Learnt to wear our faces in frames,
Trained our hellos and goodbyes,
Dug graves for the world in our eyes,
Cast locks and keyes for our tongues,
Cut them safes in between our lungs,
Sewn bullet-proof vests for our hearts,
Poisoned the tips of love-darts...

We no longer pose a danger to society!
Come evening, dear, they're setting us free!

Yet we rise with so little time!
Our lives are nothing but dust.
Dust that loved, that paid a dime
To clean old shackles of rust.
When we are gone
Still the lampposts will bleed
Light where the day is done,
Still the seas will recede
Then bring in our sorrows again.
This city will always exist,
Morning and night will remain.
Was there something we missed?
Is there anything left to achieve?
Who have we killed, and kissed?
Are there any lies left to believe?

Will I fall as a queen or a slave?
Answer me in dew on my grave.

But life is not over yet!
We have time to love and to hate.
Time to remember, time to forget.
Time to pray and time to wait.
Time to watch time fly.
Time to live, and time to die.

Time to fight like dogs over our daily bread.

There are places where we do not dare to tread
Around the edges of a bright new world we toil
Fear-maddened animals, forever ready to recoil.