"swan song"

"swan song"
taking in a bad turn of events by jake kilroy.

bastardized and cultivated,
i swore into bachelorhood
on a ballroom dance floor
that looked suspiciously
engulfed in flames.

my carnation smelled of salt
and my gums rattled with guilt.
i noticed the women serving champagne
looked familiar in the low, ample light,
but how could i recognize them
so far away from home?

i breathed in the smokey fumes
of the heap of past wreckage,
and i nailed the stars of the night
to the sky itself with only my eyes.
so my hands settled in my pocket
and i closed the smooth lighter shut,
for my swan song was just beginning
and i wasn't about to let this knife dance alone.