he loved her more than water
more than music more than most
he slept hard up against her
he had driven off his ghosts
they made noise that bugged the neighbors
they bought cases of red wine
they had kids approaching college
and everything was… fine

'till he was speaking at a conference
in their mutual line of work
he caught her glance at the reception
what an unexpected perk
she crossed the room to greet him
but he met her halfway there
he was flattered the remembered
and he tried hard not to stare
and as the novel opened
and the tangled pages turned
when was the point of no return

is the rubicon accompanied
by the sign on Dante’s gate
do you hear the quiet cracking
of the thin ice that you skate
do you have to take the plunge
or does it count if you just yearn
when was the point of no return

they hit it off so easy
they grabbed their coat and hat
they were only having dinner
I mean what’s the harm in that
at the end of the evening
as he dropped her at her room
a handshake pressed with meaning
and the rocky chasm loomed

he thought I work like a dog
why shouldn’t I enjoy
a professional interaction
I don’t buy myself big toys
a big TV or a sports car
I can keep it on the road
I can keep it out all together
It won’t careen it won’t explode
and as he wrote the second chapter
of the book he should’ve burned
was this the point of no return

is it apparent when you stray
without the chance of a reprieve
does the sea-change swamp the shore
or do you get there by degrees
the road is closed the bridge is out when’s the last time you can swerve
when was the point of no return

it’s not what you imagined
the shades of gray don’t glow
the sirens on the water
they’re just people that you know
it’s not what you expected
it’s not part of the pledge
the signs on the mountain
stay well back from the edge

at first he thought that he could hide it
the jumpiness and pep
as if jogging or a diet
put the spring in his misstep
compartmentalize his feelings
little boxes in his head
but it ate at him concealing
and his dreams were dark and red

after the eruption
the boat up on the rocks
the landscape black and bitter
the jack out of the box
the cork out of the bottle
the wine spilled in the snow
the things you never thought you’d do
you did and now you know
about the strange and sad unraveling
of the peace you thought you’d earned
before the point of no return

when you look back on the road
that ran you straight into the wall
can you pick out the one wild curve
that made you drop the ball
skip some stones across the water
for the ice is never firm
south of the point of no return