Bitter serenade

You ask me why I smile even as you try to break me
Did no one ever tell you that serenades can be bitter?
Or that photographs are not mysterious, they can be taken by the eyes
When they tell the mind to freeze a moment, freeze it for all time
So serenade me once again, with words that bruise an ego
Throw careless words around, like the stone of a hailstorm,
That cracks glass in an instant disappears within seconds
If I were made of  glass, the jungle would have spit me out.
Your tone drowns out the rain, as you address the non-essentials
I trace the contours of your face, take a mental photograph
I want to remember you like this, lest I ever forget
When they ask me what life was like in the jungle
I want to tell the truth
Let me look at you again, I want to remember
Lest nostalgia ever hits me
Lest it distorts my memories, mistaking indifference for love
Or condescension for construction,
Mistaking me for you in a bitter serenade.