Familiar Face

I think I knew her
not from the smoke hanging
or those droopy eyes bent on trouble

But from the one likeness
We all have
When we are down and not out

But defiant. As if sun, come my way
I will greet you with folded arms
and hair that knows no bounds.

I think I knew her from that long hard look
That neck brace, that spoke of another age
not mine, not this pent up 21st c flutter.

That sizzle dizzle broke up company
That thank-you-very-much-but-no-thanks
I would rather have it my way

Than avail your precious hospitality.
I do not know what time it was,
When she passed my way. I was a kid then.

All I remember is her long winded walk
That stop-stride-stop in her gait
And those eyes, waiting at the footpath

For the trees to pass.
They say she was already a legend
The first time her eyes fell on me.