I will be no pretender

a variation on "in the memory of lovers".

I will be no pretender

I will be no pretender to another's bed.
no.
I have found my ground to brace and wait
for fulcrumed joy to move smooth prayers.
for to lay with another would be a lie
and I would rather die than give false heart
a purchase on the slippery slope of fools.
I have taken my vows, and they are of iron,
as are my loins when I contemplate you,
as I would have to if I were to with another lay.
no.
I will be no pretender to another's bed.
no.
I have chosen my way and will stay on the path
you placed me upon. I may stumble and curse,
but there are worse fates than to be humbled
by the realization that love exists in this world
of cold hearts and angry voices and two-faced fools.
I have bent the rules too many times, my crimes
may not be epic, but they are my sorrow, and that
of those who played stand-in for your inevitability.
no.
I will be no pretender to another's bed.
no.
I am made complete by this purpose and will wait
as I am, whole by your will, pure to your feast,
a willing sacrifice on altars you built with your life
and lay me upon, I am without fear but for your joy.
unalloyed platinum and diamonds of the first water
are the daughter of your coming, and I am the memory
that was always there, merely waiting to be found
and waiting for you to wake and take me to my fate.
no.
I will be no pretender to another's bed.


William F. DeVault. all rights reserved.
for Candy. for it has always been her.