11.11.2020

what is a promise? More mouths shaping air

I shall be sorry, but I do not care, 
And shall not care when we have lain together; 
What is sorry? A round mouth shaping air— 

Thimbles of air. Well, don’t just stand and stare! 
Act your age. Untie this bloody tether. 
 I shall be sorry, though I don’t much care 

To know you cannot care. But I can bear, 
This once, a love as fickle as the weather. 
What is a promise? More mouths shaping air. 

Hurry, for God’s sake. Lead me to a lair, 
Beat me black and blue with flesh or leather. 
I shall be sorry, but I do not care. 

Why should I care when there is nothing there? 
The whips of love are lighter than a feather; 
What is sorry? A round mouth sobbing air— 

A busy thimble—sewing what we tear 
From fumbled lives. I cannot tell you whether 
I shall be sorry. But I do not care. 
What is sorry? A round mouth shaping air.

[Felix Dennis {1947-2014} 'I Shall Be Sorry', from Love, of a Kind]

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