I've Stepped Away

Can't you see I've stepped away,
distance between you and me?
Would you wonder where I went
if you never saw me again?
I'll give you an important clue:
transparent letters on world's glass.
I'm the one who had left
before you really knew who I was.

Shades of impressions left behind,
stick figures of a twisted mind,
drawn in blood and other fluids
for your beloved amusement.
Find the artist, seek the poet,
slurred reciting of life portrayed.
Drunken scribblings do betray
thoughts better left concealed.

Stepped away, imaginings,
laughter in the hallway,
shadows linger left behind.

Please smile when I do the same,
look away when I express the pain.
This bargain is the devil's trick,
ensuring that I slip away.
Scratch the surface so you'll see
the smile a mask hurting more,
as he laughs at the inside joke
of a smile that never was.

Can't you see I've stepped away,
vanished from the sight of you?
Shame the devil, he's the fool,
thinking this could ever be.
I'll give you an important clue:
letters written on our souls.
I never left when you embraced
the reciting of my life portrayed.

Stepped away, imaginings,
laughter in the hallway,
shadows linger left behind.
Stepped away, yet still here.

© 2015, Sean Green. All Rights Reserved. 20150619.

The impact of an artist (writer, poet, lyricist, painter, potter) can transcend the smallness of the artist. Embracing an artist gives them a larger life. It also enriches our lives in a way that transcends the nuts and bolts of the artist's output. This was wonderfully communicated Elton John's song “Goodbye Norma Jeane”. I love the stanzas “And I would have like to have known you But I was just a kid”. I have to truthfully say that I keep going because I've connected to somebody out there in the big world. I may never know who they are, but through this I'll never fully leave when I've stepped away. My poem / lyrics “I've Stepped Away” explores the relationship between an artist and those who explore their art.