I kept a close watch,
I had no choice.
Too many times the end got close,
your love, a necklace too much a noose.
so I found myself alone,
your fire an overwhelming tide. 

Oh how I dreamed of toeing the line,
steering my feet off the side.
Of turning my back to the siren,
only to find my eyes traversing your smile.
God, I admit how much the fool I am,
because those damn feet of mine kept finding that line.

But no longer wide-eyed, and well riddled with truth,
I find it easier, now, to be shrewd.
To be quick on the draw before you shoot.
I’ve been yours far too long,
a reality that I have never been able to hide,
So I learned to take the shot from my side.

And with each shot, I end up back to this start,
watching your act in your eyes start to die.
But I’m just your fool in this rhyme.
I know the story as you settle by my side.
You think you are smart, that you know,
because you think “they are mine.”

So afraid to lose this heart of mine,
You kept your eyes closed
thinking you had 20/20 sight.
Never realizing that you lost me to time.
So afraid of this poet’s play,
you never let me get in my say.

I kept my eyes opened,
because I learned how to be happy,
learn to walk the line without you.
Somehow the tide turned on a dime.
For you, wanting to keep me by your side,
you gave up what you wanted this whole time.

Darling, keep your cause, for I know the truth.
Love is what lives in this heart,
one that has always beat for you.
but you left it alone to play the fool.
Only heaven knows the grip of that fear,
so I’ll continue to walk,

because you’re mine.

(inspired by Halsey’s cover of Johnny Cash’s “I Walk The Line.”)