the devil's advocate

i. silver lies

early in the morning
late in the century
the war ended
and simon avar died
in their jasmine garden

crimson flowers bloomed
                                       (endlessly)
in that eden of despair
as jessamine burned
every sweet memory
of their love
jess, i m sorry
          i'm sorry
          i'm sorry
          i'm sorry

everyone knew
simon avar was carpe diem
    with a hint of melancholy
if we died tomorrow
at least we would have lived today

(yes, but tomorrow had arrived
too soon)

post bellum jessamine
was silver lies
pretending to be golden,
but simon avar had known her
every crack in her soul
      every scar
           every tear
                every fear
with the same devotion
he had memorised
all the stars in the sky

sirius, antares, canopus, alphard

when he died
all her secrets were buried
with him
six feet under
      (jessamine didn't go to the funeral)

in his grave
wildflowers grew
as an extension of his love
and remorse
jess, i m sorry
          i'm sorry
          i'm sorry
          i'm sorry

jessamine palmer
was an octave
                              (abba abba)
while simon avar
was her sestet
                               (cde cde)
without him
she wasn't a sonnet

but
simon avar's blood
had been golden
jessamine palmer's
was dirty and rotten

        and that is enough
        to write a
                            tragedy