The Betrayal
I'd come home unexpectedly,
I know I should have said,
But found you with another man
Both sleeping, in our bed,
I have no words to censure you
No words to spell my grief,
But years of trust have shattered,
You betrayed me with a thief.
What have I done, these thirty years
To turn your face from me,
That love you swore, undying
Now just some anomaly?
You opened up our secret place
For some dark stranger's whim,
What does he have that I must lack,
Why did you go with him?
I left you both there sleeping
Staggered down to nurse my pride,
Pacing back and forth the hallway
With my future to decide,
But my heart was drained, quite empty
I could see no way ahead,
And the dearth that came upon me
Cried, ‘I wish that I was dead! '
My eyes betrayed me, watered
Down my cheeks, so grey and lined,
You will never see me crying
Though the Lord should strike me blind!
Then I saw you on the stairway
With your gown bunched at your throat,
With that look of horror, branded
And your scream, that one high note.
In a moment, you recovered,
And your face took on a sneer,
‘So you caught us, I'm not bothered,
You'd not usually be here! '
Then her lover lumbered down
And put his arm around her waist,
He was young, and lithe, embarrassed,
Couldn't look me in the face.
‘Thirty years we've been together,
Thirty years, and now to this,
Tell me, what have you discovered
From a brief, flirtatious kiss?
Just how long d'you think you'll keep him
[...] Read more
poem by David Lewis Paget
Added by Poetry Lover
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