Riley . . .Was That Really You?

By a cyber pool I met someone
Claimed the name was Riley
Had a heap of friends eager to say
They thought of her more than highly
Seemed sharper than a highland thistle -
Wicked as a whip -
Kind of cute - in a winsome way -
To keep biting her lower lip.
Said she was in d.t.p. moving into sales -
To all appearances not a girl going quietly off the rails.

However . . . .

I has this friend at school,
A kid called Reilly
His girlfriend talked like Elvis,
Looked like Kylie . . .

She didn't believe god knew or cared -
She didn't believe in underwear -
Didn't believe you should carry a spare -
Only believed in all the fun of the fair -
Insisted the world was flat and square -
Sat up late in the night -
Asking, "Is anybody there?"

An angel in an ashen world
With one weird propensity:
Doubting in the details of my own identity.

She seemed to think I was a girl,
Which I strenuously denied,
Insisted that we’d met elsewhere -
Sites and dates supplied.
I slipped my hand down in my pants
But no, I hadn't changed
Everything was pretty much as before,
Though now somewhat rearranged.
She told me we were all going to die
(I couldn't argue there)
Kept saying its not a question of if
It's just a matter of when and where.
I wanted to be polite
And show some kind of empathy
So I said, "For Christ's sake
What the fuck's this got to do with me?"
Her eyes bored into mine,
Like violet dental instruments,
My friend Reilly was feeling uneasy -
This was getting too intense,
He said "Forget it sweetheart!"
But as he hustled her away
She looked back over her shoulder
And said, "See you again again . . . someday!"

Now you don't have to be Einstein,
Holmes or the next Savonarola
To ask yourself the question I did
When "Riley" said, "Hey, Floater . . .
You're not a man at all, are you?"
With a confident carefree brio
"What's more
I'm sure
We've met before
And you’re really a girl called Cleo!"

My skin went cold and damp and tight,
Couldn’t get my breathing right.

A haunting memory swam into view-
Stunned I stared and struggled and stewed
Knowing there's only one thing to do . . .
So . . .
 "Riley -
Was that really you?"