Old Oak and You
Jessy Esterline, United States Air Force
I took a trip to find you in the pages resting beneath a memory of long ago.
When our skin was soft and our hearts were mercury. Keeping secrets, kidding ourselves.
We played with the elements until, Fire. The ants between the concrete and a looking glass.
Our love was not built to last.
Back then, I was addicted to the scent of your hair. The way it tussled in your sleep.
But I hated the way you spoke, that little bit of grit hidden behind your sweet.
Your mind a trap, but “me” it couldn’t keep. Infidelities fueled by my own insecurities
I couldn’t let you love me.
What we took. The way we shook love down. It should have been over then.
Of all the useless ways I loved you, I never imagined what I’d gain,
How you follow me still. In a lyric or stroke of a pen.
Through the phone lines a thousand miles over and over again,
You’re my muse that won’t give. My limbs the frame for your canvas to fit
If ever you need to rid of your grit, just remember.
Remember what it took to get this far. Remember we are better than we were.
My soul is forever changed in a melody; in the memory of how you came.
USAF, veteran, singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Eastern NC, I have always had a love of country and a creative spirit. I was classically trained in piano from the age of 7 and started teaching myself to play guitar during a deployment in 2008. Music and writing have always been my safe place. I learned after returning home from that deployment that I could use it as a tool to cope and to heal. I started playing more seriously in 2013 at open mics and eventually started booking my own shows. I’ve been writing and sharing songs/music all over Eastern NC for the last six years. My time in the military gave me so many great experiences to pull from in life, and I hope to help other veterans and people find solace in/through music.
