i didn't see that coming

i didn't see the pain
i didn't see the loneliness
i didn't see my mother dying, my brothers aging
i didn't see that coming

i thought being young was a state of the mind
believed an independent life need not any money
waited in vain for a change within
walked the extra mile for you and your crazy ideas

but i didn't see that coming

i didn't see fatherhood
i didn't see myself trapped in debt
i didn't see my friends walking away from me
as much as i didn't see me walking away from them

i didn't see the end of love
i didn't see the spirit numb
i didn't see the drive so sparse
i didn't see the mind going off road
desperately seeking long lost causes

i didn't see that coming
and i didn't see you coming
and while i perfectly know and understand
there is no use regretting
i regret it all


bruno smith (Providence, RI, 1974)