thrilling
when there was nothing to fear
endless happiness with
love wrapped around us
like candy treats

but in torturous
segments we cracked
I prayed for sanity
cursed the bottle
in your hand
and sighed repeatedly for the
night to end

juxtaposed
those twenty years
I gave no thought to
fidelity
except
the year it went astray
and leapt out of that sweet wrapper
to

the end