Jill Stephens - Cruel Mistress: The Wifes Tale

(The Wifes Tale)

Whom does he see

As he looks in the glass?

How attractive is she

That she can surpass

The love that we had for each other?

Whoever she is

Whatever she gives

It is not just the fizz

Of pleasure that lives

In the way that they cling to each other.

For gloom fills his face

And his heart is sad

Keep out is writ large

And his thoughts must be bad

For we cannot reach one another.

Scarce does he come home

As the clock ticks the hour

To her arms he has flown

And the evening turns sour

They cant get enough of each other.

A woman could I fight

But in a bottle or in can

This mistress has no right

To lay hold of my man.

Fight the one, but how counter the other?

I cant reach him now

As he sits there in gloom

A frown creases his brow

And I leave the room

For now we are lost to each other

I stamp, rail and shout

But I cant bring him back

And then I walk out

Get myself off the rack

For we are destroying each other.

The children have left

I stayed there til then

But I feel bereft

And Ive no faith in men.

Are they all just as bad as each other?

Or was it my fault?

Did I not fight enough?

Should I have called halt

Before life was so rough.

I thought we were there for each other.

His mistress has him in thrall

In her private hell

For her he gives all

And his soul he would sell

To get more and more of the other.

Now see how she knows

Her superior strength

They come not to blows

But he stretches his length

Enslaved and abused by the other.

His health in decline

He goes down the slope

He steps over the line

To the land of no hope

Unreachable there, with the other.

And now I feel old

And hes broken in health.

Still loves me, Im told

But shes taken by stealth

Our youth and our future together.

I no longer feel cross

But the hurt has gone deep

I grieve for my loss

And often I weep

For the waste of the life of the other.

Loving father and best friend

Strong support, safe provider

She has brought him at the end

Shambling, broken, an outsider

Friendless, lonely, shamed, and yet

Deep inside, the man is still

Hidden, waiting there til

His future finally is set.