Last Call

finally she has seen me

bare and naked,

my soul stripped clean

of all barriers and pretenses,

holding me in her arms

like a child,

precious and dear,

and for the very first time

I am ready to give it all,

no holding back,

no deceptive lies and tricks,

realizing that which I have been seeking

my entire life has been there in front of me

the whole time and that

I really can have it all

if I can just hold on hard enough,

long enough;

I spoke no words for fear

they would get in the way

as they have so many times before,

I think I told her more

than I ever have before;

I came to the realization that with her

I can make it through this terrible life

with all its inadequacies and inconsistencies,

that I am more in her arms

than I could ever be outside of them;

time is running out,

so many years have gone by

worn and wasted,

but it really doesn’t matter,

now that I have found her,

now that she has seen who I really am,

no mask in place,

as she holds me in her arms and

the barkeeper living inside

yells out;

“Last Call!”

.

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