Hard Runner
That Spring, pretty and barely grown
She set out on her own
Fixed her sights on the great unknown
Life was sweet, and so was she
And she knew right where she wanted to be
Summer found her dressed in heat
From lover to lover with gypsy feet
Never quite made it off the street
Life was rough, and so was she
Tougher every day, with nothing for free
The winds of Autumn made her colder
Not wiser, just meaner and older
Time was a pimp that sold and resold her
Life was hard, but she was stone
All the way to the bone
Winter came and laid her bare
No home, no coat, no longer fair,
She fixed in an alley and died there.
Life snickered and moved on
One year, four seasons, from girl to gone.
Constance Lessard Briggs
