A backward look in reparation.
The train that leaves the evening station.
Lights are dimmed in lengthening carriages.
Lives constrained by awkward marriages.
Destinations part concealed,
Neutered weapons, broken shields.
Birth and death and separation
It's hard this act of conscious diction
Diplomacy, avoiding friction
Dying brothers, sullen daughters
Unmapped shores beyond these waters
For now, the tears the shallow laughter
The second bottle, morning after
A culling of the truth from fiction
The crooked finger writes, entices
Deals the cards and roll the dice
Explains, expunges, makes it better
Credits payments to the debtors
Far beyond the horn is calling
Mist is rising, drizzle falling
The party's over. Life suffices