Cupid never pulled her bow
and if perchance she did, she missed me by a mile
But lie not must I
because the banshees howl your essence
days and nights and even the streets tars your name
in disgruntle and far from fragrant maelstrom

So that at vesper quiet
a benediction I sing for you
and at chapel reverie in sombre winds
my thoughts grace atonement
for you and for others in tidal flows
I pray for pity for lost souls and those yet to find
hapless seekers and searchers in Dante's Never-land

I can't but feel to blame
for in coming to my distant winter oasis
where words and deeds were dressed in guile's unwitting
the Southern light did follow in visceral disquiet
and in offending gust and pique blew away the veil you wore
and gazes turned in searchlights orbs ripping boded hues
your prime and testaments laid out to feed vultures
leaving you to dance all your dances to a thousand eyes

Four decades and a little more
you walked your court as you wished
your homes, your guests, your laws, your  Appain way
to you belongs, never for the Town Squares
but a careless flirt in my undimmable flares
eyes and tongues attune to be your uninvited guests
and in the vipers nests and in drips of rancor foul
with them you lay your stalls with your wares in view

So its with clear pity my memories takes
Alas, not of cupid's lark or roses whiffs
a marionette parading with stories for all  
in spotlight
forsooth, tis known in dimmer light and closed curtains
some plays enact better far from seen
Tis my regret you walked in to walk out to all and sundry
which is never you
for I know, you do not like to walk bare-feet in the rain..........