Thrice I promised clemency, thrice I laid them down
And thrice I played my cards wrong which led me, love, to frown.

Recalling how it went, love, when we were, but, two bairns,
We romped amid the heather and leapt across the cairns.
Joyously we ran through youth as only youth deserve
And adolescence chased us hard to tax our hot reserve.

Love and lust co-mingled there to thread our gauntlet long
Though conscience ran a ragged race to countenance our song
Just one of us survived it all and one threw in the towel
Though both endured to struggle on despite the gossips' prowl.

Despite the prim expressions, despite the churlish tone,
Despite outraged opinion, we each, as one, alone....
Went our separate ways despite the searing love we felt
Tho, to capitulate to tumult, we bent the knee and knelt....

Broken hearts and searing pain determined how cards fell
You chose, alone, to end it all, as far as I can tell.
Hollow in this vacuum of agonizing night
The meaningless tomorrows extend in endless flight...

So thrice I pondered clemency, thrice I laid me down
Yet thrice we played the Jack of Clubs .....
Which led us, both, to drown.

M.
31 July 2020