Monday, January 4, 2010

The Pretender


                                                                here


The Pretender


Strut with false bravado
Sure to catch their eye
Flash your Cary Grant persona
As you slowly pass them by.

Who’s your victim this time,
Falling for your game?
Her aspirations, fears and hopes
As incidental as her name.

Pray the in-crowd notices
With her draped upon your arm
Alone corrupt her innocence
With coy, pretentious charm.

Sell yourself just to impress,
Brag of a prowess you’ll never possess,
Break everything around you
You strain for that sound
In the backseats
And heartbeats
That you knock around.

And you treat their dreams like playthings
And you drop them without care
Beneath your three ring circus tent.
As you juggle them in the air.

Then light those taunting shadows
That fill your silent home
Believe nights of broken promises
Beat sleeping all alone.

But when the doors close behind you
And your darkest night sets in
The only empty space inside this house
Will be the one that lies within.



Intellectual property copyright Barry O'Shea.  All rights reserved.

9 comments:

  1. I hope I don't get lured by a pretender...oh well, at my age, I don't think I can easily fall prey to his game. Hahaha!

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  2. Beautiful piece. Draws some really nice reflections!

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  3. So true. But isn't it one of the Masks each one of us wears with great pleasure once in a while? I will be very honest - I do. And I feel comfortable to be a "pretender" every now and then.Wishing you wonderful Monday!

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  4. Very insightful, Barry. I didn't know that you knew all my old boyfriends!

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  5. Leah, we all like to think so...

    Jon, thank you. :)

    Anya, I completely agree. Some masks are more harmless than others.

    Diane, thanks. Wow, if that's the case you must be very thankful you have Chuck!

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  6. This is a great poem! It was fun to read and yet perfectly described these type of men (or women)! I always look forward to your personal writings...you have an amazing gift and it thrills me you share it with us all.

    I hope you are having a great week. If all goes well, you should hear from me soon! Hopefully! xoxo

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  7. Well this sounds like half of the South Beach population! Aaawww the good ol' days when I used to strut in and out of celebrity parties amongst the crazy and delusional... and me fitting right in! I sold myself to impress like a pro...hhhmmm... I SAID STOP WRITING ABOUT ME. Well, at least it's not today's me, but it's still harsh to read. And I mean harsh in the best possible way:)))

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  8. Such a nice blog. Beautiful post too.

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