In Another Life

in another life                the nice old lady in the 

plastic rain bonnet who smiles as we pass on the 

crossing might have been my best friend      might 

have understood my complexities in a way no other 

human being ever could and stood shoulder to shoulder 

with me as we navigated the peaks and troughs of our 

turbulent lives                          and yet all we get is a smile 

in another life             Sophie                with the 

sparkling suntan and perfect dive from holiday last 

year might have been my older sister              might naturally 

have taught me how to carry myself with the same 

understated confidence                        but coincidence 

was against us and now I find her outline quietly fades 

from my mind 

so many other lives                 passing by 

so many here and gone 

the size of it all astounds                     me the fact my only one is 

right now and it’s not like I’m unhappy with it                     I’m not 

(and yeah I’m aware some think there’s more than one 

but it ain’t for me to be fair)  

and I dunno                 it just makes me sad sometimes y’know 

as though a part of me grieves 

for all the lives that slide on by  

the lives I’ll never lead