Life Turns

Life turns,
On a dime
And on the wheel.

Life turns on a dime.
One day
You have a friendship
And a secret love
That might blossom
And grow so that you might learn
Of yourself and the other,
But the next day you stare down sorrow
As you're torn apart
Without the chance
Of ever knowing what might have been.

Life turns on the wheel.
An ancient song,
Sung to you,
Is used to calm a panicked friend.
A modern song,
That you learned to dance to
In your basement on your father's toes,
Takes you across the floor with strangers.
A well-loved and known book,
Read to you before you knew words,
Is read to one hurt
And they slowly crawl off the ledge to you.

Life turns on a dime.
Life turns on the wheel.