Bitterness

A twinkle in her eyes tonight

evokes the thought that they invite,

though I recall, not long ago

my absence seemed more apropos.

 

The laughs that linger on her lips

bare more than many verbal slips -

the times they pierced me, sad and grim,

lie in the past, though far from dim.

 

She flayed me once... nay, more than twice,

she flayed me both with flames and ice,

and once again, predictably,

she primes me for catastrophe.

 

Our friends and foes naively watch

her try to carve a deeper notch,

for even they don't seem to know

the depths to which she'd really go.      

 

Upon my face a pose appears

which hides my thoughts, obscures my sneers,

for now I too have learned the rules

from her - ah, yes, the best of schools.

 

Because I'm acting somewhat cool,

thus pouring on her fires, fuel,

she burns and yearns and wants me more

than when I was her cuspidor.

 

She (unbeknownst, I'm not the same)

pursues again her guileful game.

But when her tears descend and swell,

will she be proud she taught me well?

 

The others leave, I stay behind

(they all know what she has in mind) ,

embrace her in my arms once more,                                

beguile her through her bedroom door.

 

She whispers secrets in my ear,

as I once did (she didn't hear);

I listen, flash some mirthless smiles,

my thoughts adrift to desert isles.

 

The night is passed, her trusting grows;

I leave before the morning glows.

Aroused, she'll seek a waking thrill

but find instead a dollar bill.