The fall came sudden, though we should have seen it.
We were merry in the taverns, on the mall well-adorned,
toasting our lustrous future, trusting luck to bring it,
while beneath the ribboned banners our foundation crumbled, scorned.

The young man hung his head and cried, “What twisted fortune come?!”
The old man, bushed in brow and beard, stood trembling with fear
at finding feet on what he long thought sure was so long from:
a ramshackle ricket, rusted through, ‘neath a polished gold veneer.

The fall came sudden, and why she kept the smile on
and sang within the tavern halls, her body well-adorned,
while holding up the smile and song and dress was but a con,
I cannot tell, but in the telling lose again the love she scorned.

Would past, and now, and future were so clear…

© – Gary Lee Parker