Paradise Lost and Found

A Poem

Photo by Nuzhet Flores: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-a-woman-standing-near-green-palm-tree-2535640/

dollars and cents meant nothing
in the whirlwind of you,
the common misconception
of a boy with blood too rich
for second guesses.

hours we spent,
just getting caught up
in the spectacle of it all,
till we were dizzy with want
and no care for tomorrow.

the leaves fell in spurts
while we carried on
and wished winter away,
no matter if the end meant
we’d get buried in a blizzard.

and we didn’t know
how quickly the frost
would settle in
for far more
than a passing season.

you laughed at my unease,
and I told jokes at your expense
while we circled parties
with words all too full
of what was fair in love and war.

you could have lied,
and I would have believed
like a sinner on her knees,
praying for divine rites
to save my damned soul.