It is lost! Lost! Lost! Lost!
Taken from me in its youth
Its bright and young future
Extinguished by the hands
Of cruel fate and ill luck
How I will miss you:
My lost jacket, my beautiful orphan
Whom I have loved for so many years
And raised as my own
You impressed and dazzled
Navy blue, and double-breasted
Your body rose like a tall statue
Long and tall and proud
Finally reaching your full length
At the end of your crisp collar
Men praised you
And women adored you
Your hint of sophistication
Was the subject of conversation
Your photogenic demeanour
Was the fabric of identity
So many years we travelled together
Across oceans and continents
From the deserts of Morocco
To the temples of Japan
And in Europe you were always the star.
And how carelessly I left you
Alone one night, in a bout of naive trust
In the hearts of other men.
And when I had returned
You were snatched away from me
In the heart of the cold, dark night
How I fear what has become of you...
Have you been discarded?
Have waste and rubble
Formed the contours of your undignified grave
Where your lifeless corpse now lies?
Are you hanging in neglect
On the coat rack of another?
Lost and forgotten
In a damp and dark place
Or have you been taken as a cheap prize
By an unscrupulous predator
Who has ravished you
And stripped you of your worth?
Who will take care of you now?
Love you and protect you?
Treat you to appointments at the
dry-cleaners
And faithfully brush lint and specks of dirt
Off your body?
And although I can indulge
In an orgy of reckless shopping
I will never find another like you.
As that which we love the most
We find the hardest to replace.
