She Can Still Dream

I can tell in her voice
she wants more for her life.
Right now she is the
faithful wife and
loving mother that
she feels she needs to be.

But I know her all too well.
I know there’s a side to her
that wants to let loose,
a side that wants to express
with reckless abandon
and without boundaries.

But I know her all too well.
There’s always been a thing
or things that kept her from
going all out with her emotions,
letting go of inhibitions,
and being every bit of the woman

that she desires to be.
But there’s a hint of resignation
in her voice that says
the days of the reckless abandon
and the letting loose
may be just a thing of the past,

something only she can pass on
to her children, hoping they will
live with the ability of
chasing their own destinies with
reckless abandon and
without inhibitions.

Maybe then she can see in their eyes
the light that still shines in hers
and that no matter how
much time and circumstance says
where her place is supposed to be,
she can still dream.

Tacky

I told her,
"I don't do tacky."
She looked at me with
a sense of shock
with a little bit of confusion
mixed in.  I guess she
couldn't understand how
I could say such a thing.
Everyone got the memo
about the fun and frolicky event of
the office wearing their Christmas worst
and she was willing to participate
with her "tacky"
snowman-and-Santa sweater.
The merry tribe of men and women
took pride in what they pulled
from the back of the closet to
wear in front of each other,
even taking pictures of
this awful array of attire.
But for me,
I don't do "tacky".
It's not part of my wardrobe
or my vocabulary.
They can keep that tradition.
I'm going to look good
during the holidays.

No Chance

I should've known better
but it took reading
her blogs to realize
I never had a chance.

I don't know who he was
or how long they dated,
but he must've done
something drastic to make her

sit guarded and defiant,
determined to never
be hurt again,
determined that the next man

had to meet her mandates
and follow her directions.
I should've known
I never had a chance.

But what man can know?
She laughs and smiles
and enjoys life as if
her world is an open book.

But within her happiness
lies a fortress that
guards her heart and
flies red flags at the sight

of any man that approaches.
Now I know and I'm fearful
the others may feel like me.
There's no chance.