And what strange time is this;
When all I loved has left,
And all I didn’t
Crowds and breaches
My abyss.

With nothing left but silence
At my head,
They smile and murmur,
Claw and moan me
At my bed.

Where I can best forget
You ever were,
As buttocks, legs, thighs, lips
Deepen my despair.

For when I plunge and cry
And fall apart,
It’s you I stab and reach for,
Bitter Heart!

David Lewis Paget