Dearest Nemesis

by Marie Vibbert

My plotting against you is tender devotion,

Not justice alone do I crave,

But to bury my tenderness deep inside you

In an unmarked, undisclosed grave.

And how shall I do it, this sweet consummation?

This melding of deed and of curse?

With violent fractures or chemical actors

Or something unimagi’bly worse?

I need to take action, I have no distraction

But something, it catches my eye,

The weather is horrible. Views metaphorical

Cause me to soften my stride –

The late-summer roses like dowdy old ladies

Tea-stained chiffon at their heels

They cluster together to whisper their secrets

And barter their dying deals.

Yes, to save myself trouble, I think I’ll uncouple,

Leave you alone on that vine.

For vengeance is giving in, I’ll assign to oblivion

Every moment you took of my time.