I know the rules and hear myself agree <br />Not to invest beyond this one night stand. <br />I know your patter: in, out, like the sea. <br />The sharp north wind must blow away the sand. <br /> <br />Soon my supply will meet your last demand <br />And you will have no further use for me. <br />I will not swim against the tide, to land. <br />I know the rules. I hear myself agree. <br /> <br />I've kept a stash of hours, just two or three <br />To smuggle off your coast like contraband. <br />We will both manage (you more easily) <br />Not to invest beyond this one night stand. <br /> <br />To narrow-minded friends I will expand <br />On cheap not being the same as duty free. <br />I'll say this was exactly what I planned. <br />I know your pattern: in, out, like the sea. <br /> <br />It's not as if we were designed to be <br />Strolling along the beach front, hand in hand. <br />Things change, of natural necessity. <br />The sharp north wind must blow away the sand <br /> <br />And every storm to rage, however grand, <br />Will end in pain and shipwreck and debris <br />And each time there's a voice I have to strand <br />On a bare rock, hardened against its plea; <br />I know the rules.<br /><br />Sophie Hannah<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/rondeau-redoubl/
