athena and i.

Athena, and I I met her, waaaay back... in 87, 8, or maybe 9. Back then, she was with a friend of mine. She was older than i, and, kind of "big", at the time. Even so, she'd occupy my mind, for the next decade, or so. Moved on, did she, and wound up with another old chum. Who, admittedly, took better care.... Hell, he even got her to run! Before long, she'd trimmed down And despite advanced age, Was quite sleek...dare i say...sexy, again? Years wandered on by, like they always do..... Strangers, passing in the street, with no hint of recognition. All along, I knew, eventually, inevitably, Athena, and i would meet. I'd been married some time, she still lived with Jeff. But, as with the temporary nature of such things, eventually, she'd left. She and I, we took up. What an affair it was! I knew her, it seemed, like no other had, I know I'd caressed, every part, every inch, figuratively, and literally, with both hands. I knew, instinctively, every ailment she had. And even just what to do, to ease whatever malady. We went everywhere together, inseperable it'd seem. Folks came to know me, by her, and she, by me.. Looking back, what i'd thought was great fun, i've since found,to her, may have been abuse. And, as she was getting much older, she grew weak, I suppose, from neglect... Being of short attention span, I'd become desirous of others. I didn't try to hide this fact. I collected younger, or older, it mattered not.... A veritable stable, of new, "playthings", I'd managed to amass, in few, short years. Athena, well, she gathered dust, and wept Waiting in the wings, For her moment, in the dusk. I never meant to hurt her, or be mean.. You see, she'd changed my life. Given me a whole new direction, for better, or for worse...so.... Despite my overly-effusive memories, of just how grand it was.... There was still, plenty of strife to go 'round. Times she'd left me stranded, on the side of the road, In the rain, and the hail.... Spent all my money... Leaving me broke, sometimes, in jail. See, her constant need for attention Had worn me thin... As much as i wanted, i couldn't rebuild, yet again. There has always been this nagging thought, in the back of my brain, concerning my two dead friends, with whom, she'd been. Was i next? A victim to her whim? Anyone's guess, i'd suppose. Though I threatened, thousands, of times, I never did rid myself of her... And, through all our trials, she was always foremost, in my mind, If indeed, not in action. My reward? the victor's spoils? For sticking around, enduring our foibles? She's still standing beside me today. Sitting.....in the dark, in a lonely little shack, as is her way...... Awaiting my touch, and, for summer, to come back. For the blur of pavement, and the straight pipe's crack. Wanting only, for me, to twist the wick..... For that magneto to fire, as i kick her through. And we'll go a-wanderin' again... Like we used to do... Hold up, just a minute......I'm not quite done, before you judge, me a cad, or a heel.... For these things I've done, I've got to tell you, you really must know.. The "she" that i speak of.....Athena, is made of steel, and has two wheels. Anyway..... Who ever said i was a one-cycle man?