Thoughts in the Middle Watch

Thoughts in the Middle Watch

The devil's in the wind tonight,
hell is in my mind;
demons of the grief I gave
the girl I left behind.
For once,
just once,
in the grinding port of aching toil and din
I paid to weep my pain in a woman's
gentle arms and didn't think it sin.

But God...!
Dear God...!
Why did you hide your virus
in those mother-loving charms?
Now the girl who once adored me
lies gaunt upon the sheet –
stricken by my loving –
with lips that once were sweet
drawn back upon her teeth.

A thousand miles away,
my lovely waits for death;
and a bitter prayer she murmurs
with every ebbing breath.
And the bitter prayer she murmurs,
soulful eyes repeat,
“I'll curse you out of heaven
if our paths should ever meet.”