The fires in her eyes tonight <br />Call forth the thought that they invite, <br />Though I remember, long ago <br />My absence seemed more apropos. <br /> <br />The smile that lingers on her lips <br />Says more than many verbal slips - <br />The time when it was somewhat grim <br />Is in the past and rather dim. <br /> <br />She flayed me once, no, more than twice <br />She flayed me both with flames and ice <br />And once again, ironically, <br />She primes me for catastrophe. <br /> <br />Those curious, nearby, just watch <br />Her try to cut a deeper notch. <br />But even they don't seem to know <br />The depths to which she'd really go. <br /> <br />Upon my face a smile appears <br />Which hides my thoughts and paints my sneers, <br />For now I too have learned the rules <br />From her - she was the best of schools. <br /> <br />Because I'm acting somewhat cool, <br />Thus pouring on her fires, fuel, <br />She burns and yearns and wants me more <br />Than when I was her cuspidor. <br /> <br />She doesn't know I'm not the same, <br />And plans to play her practiced game. <br />But when her teardrops start to swell, <br />Will she be proud she taught me well? <br /> <br />The others leave, I stay behind <br />(They all know what she has in mind) <br />And take her in my arms once more <br />Then slip her past the bedroom door. <br /> <br />She whispers secrets in my ear, <br />As I once did (she didn't hear): <br />I listen with a mirthless smile <br />While thinking of a desert isle. <br /> <br />The night is passed, her trusting grows, <br />I part before the morning glows. <br />Aroused, she'll seek a waking thrill <br />But find instead a dollar bill...<br /><br />Terry O'Leary<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/bitterness-18/
