Was it his mask that had briefly slipped,
Or, a hand that he'd genially gripped?
Was it some packet of milk, fruit, or flour?
The pill he took at the appointed hour?
Might the cousin have been turned away?
The test advanced by a decisive day?
Might he've been in another doctor's care?
What or who else could he beware?
Whirl after whirl, so many a pull and push,
Till along the axis came the ambush;
Words, so familiar as to leave her lonely,
An unknown voice squawking "if only".
To pass on, could any time ever be right?
Yet, if only he'd dodged this parasite...
No longer home, he dwells in her heart,
If only she'd not been miles apart...
Comments