– Epic 1 –
New story,
Same beginning.
I know how this ends.
Our hero,
Melancholic,
Deep on morals;
How tragic he looks.
He has no friends.
Always on the move
Definition of a loner.
Short on words.
Long on looks.
Conversation through the eyes.
But there’s a flaw.
What does he hide?
We try to guess.
The love interest
Sees him in a bar
Reading a book.
“Haven’t seen you here before”
He shrugs.
“Staying long?”
He looks her up and down
Without a care.
Sees the wedding band.
“Oh this. We are finished” she frowns.
“Sure” his voice impassive.
“I am not hitting on you.”
“Never said you were.”
His eyes more defensive.
“ Do you smoke?”
She nods.
“Let’s go outside.
It is quieter. Cigarettes are so expensive
Don’t you think? We can talk.”
– Epic 2 –
“So what’s your story?”
A traditional opening.
“Do you want it ab initio?”
“Abbey what?”
“From the beginning, it’s Latin.”
“Let’s start there”
“It would take too long.”
“What’s your name,
More importantly what is your game?”
“My name is Gabriel.”
“Like the angel?”
“Yes”
She smoked her cigarette
To the quick.
“I am no angel but things happen around me.
I can’t explain or forget but……”
“But what?”
“I am staying at the Elise, join me if you wish.”
“Oh wow, only million….” Her words died away.
Looking at his garb.
He saw that.
“You are one big secret, aren’t you?”
“Let’s go to the car.”
It was a Rolls Royce, the driver waiting
“The Elise sir?”
“Yes Majors.”
“Very good sir” looking through his rear view mirror.
The meaning was ambiguous.
Soon they arrived.
“Hope you like it, I own it.”
– Epic 3 –
“What “
“The “
“Fuck”
Her world went dark.
She had hit on him,
Yet it was her
Slammed out of the park.
“I feel sick, need to go home.”
“Majors, take her back.
Let me give you my card.
Please call.”
Said more with eyes
Than voice.
As they drove away
She beat the Camargue leather
Like she had no choice.
“Who does he think he is?
Why does he dress like a tramp?”
“He wants someone to judge him honestly.”
“Isn’t he dishonest,
Pretending to be something he is not?”
“Perhaps, but he does not want a bedroom
Littered with debutants and models.”
“So why me, tell me?”
“He saw something he wanted, something he missed.”
“What, what, what?”
“Maybe just a kiss.”
Intrigue, once planted, acts like a virus.
Lives in the soul. Obsessive behaviour ensues
Never fed enough
See how this story concludes.
– Epic 4 –
She went straight to bed.
Crazy thoughts
Ran through her head.
Almost convinced
That what happened
Didn’t.
Since his card was on the dresser
She got up and read it.
Black with gold edging,
Simply saying
‘Gabriel Levi’, a mobile number and email address.
She googled the name
In various ways.
The results always the same,
Nothing came up,
As if he didn’t exist.
The rolls should have been a clue.
You can hire them though,
And owning the Elise,
Any one could say that too.
She resolved to ring,
Clear the air.
She had to know,
Was this a fling
Or something new?”
Within two seconds her call was answered.
“Levi here, whose calling?”
“You don’t even know my name
I think that appalling.
I am the woman you met in the bar.”
“Ah, yes, glad you called.
What is it by the way?”
Indifference in every word.
“Suzanne, Susanne George.”
“What can I do for you Susanne?”
– Epic 5 –
“Can I come round?” she asked.
“I will send a car.”
“No, don’t do that I will get a cab and the neighbours will talk.”
“I understand fair lady.”
Who talks like that
As if from another century.
“I will meet you in the bar.”
“But its late.”
“It will open for me.”
“Yes, of course.”
When she arrived
He was dressed immaculately.
Gone were the tatty clothes.
She saw a gentleman.
“Do you like me better this way?”
“I approve.”
Yet he was too smooth.
Effete was not the word,
She felt transfixed.
A strange mixture
Of attraction and repulsion.
Do we always hate the things we love
When all control is gone?
He ordered drinks.
They sat in a corner,
Talked about the weather.
It was ok.
Things went ok.
The texture of his clothes,
Just another mask.
She couldn’t tell
And she couldn’t ask.
She touched his thigh
And didn’t know why.
All the time knowing,
So she measured her breath.
– Epic 6 –
They sat in silence.
It seemed like an age
But was only minutes.
As if in a cage
He began to prowl.
“Why are you here?”
There was a scowl
On her face,
She couldn’t answer.
Not usually lost for words.
“Shall I tell you why?”
“You are curious but scared
About the chancer
You see before you”,
“Are you some kind of gambler?”
“No, chances are taken, not given
And they are everywhere.
Real success is founded on mistakes
Don’t be afraid
To make them.
Do you believe in love at first sight?”
“I don’t know”
“Well I do.
“Anything less becomes a chore.
Then gradually you find it
Rotten at the core.
Will you come to my room?”
“No, you’re coming on too strong
And its way too soon”.
She got up and left
And he sat for a while,
But as she walked through the door
She couldn’t help but smile.
– Epic 7 –
He went to bed.
Thoughts ricochet
Around his head
Like stray bullets
Looking for a target.
If one struck
He would know
Then maybe
He could go to sleep.
This woman was feral,
Like a stray cat
And the situation was pregnant
With danger.
No stranger to him.
Always drawn to it.
Fast cars, fast bikes.
The thrill was not the speed
But the avoidance of death
And that would always
Take his breath.
He had met few like her.
A woman he might need,
A woman who could stir
Feelings he forgot,
Or afraid to admit.
He rolled over in the dark
And listened to his heart.
He wanted it.
This could be a new start.
– Epic 8 –
The next day
He went down to breakfast,
And assumed his table
In the corner
Of the opulent dining room.
He was not famous,
But known on sight by many,
Who nodded courteously.
His fortune had been made
In financial markets,
That had survived wives,
And various relationships.
The only constant in his life,
But the thrill of his endeavours
Was not now making money,
But being clever,
And showing he was right.
He thought about the woman.
Would he play Pygmalion again.
That never ended well.
At first they were delighted,
Then came to expect,
And finally reject
The lifestyle that he offered.
Loving and impressing,
He found difficult to separate.
He had mixed feelings of both,
But they were not equal.
Would, could he change?
He did not know.
– Epic 9 –
A waiter came,
Said there was a lady in reception
Wishing audience with him.
He told the man to show her in.
Some effort had been made
To her appearance.
And he noticed.
Naturally he stood,
Napkin folded,
But his tutored eye
Saw the difference
Twixt knee and thigh.
“Listen, I need to know what’s going on between us”.
“I would have thought that obvious”.
“Are you trying to buy me?”
“You are not for sale”,
That deflated her.
All the time
His head still,
Eyes unblinking,
Like a true predator.
It was unnerving.
His look carried both danger and seduction
In equal measure.
“Do you like sailing?
I am moored in the harbour.
When you are finished
We can walk there”.
His were the manners of a man
Used to getting his own way.
She did not want to stare.
Polite, yet cold.
He had wealth.
But little else,
Incomplete or broken?
She must take care while being bold.
– Epic 10 –
The yacht,
White and sleek,
Beautiful.
She watched him,
Greet the captain,
Then, he introduced her.
They went inside.
All polished wood,
And leather.
She had to ask,
“Is there a woman in your life?”
He moved to go on deck.
She followed.
Turning he said “no.”
“You haven’t a wife?
I am a little confused,
Why do you not share all this?”
He looked somewhat bemused.
“I am a kind and generous man.
I find it rarely returned.
This is the lesson
I have learned”.
“Does it have to be?”
“Good point” and he smiled.
The boat sailed on.
– Epic 11 –
Out of the blue sky,
Darker clouds began to gather.
The wind rose.
The sea grew heavier.
He poured champagne.
Still moments went by,
Then came the rain.
“Where are we going?”
“To an island over there,
Owned by a friend of mine.
He makes me look poor”,
Gabriel’s smile was weak,
But thoughtful.
“As you see, there is always more”.
Did he ever switch off?
Suzanne wondered,
And thought not.
He turned to her and said,
“There is something you should know”.
She looked alarmed.
“Please, don’t be afraid.
You see, I am very ill.
I know it’s not apparent,
But the tumour in my head,
Continues to grow.”
“I am sorry “ she said.
Now knowing she became calm,
Her anxiety subsumed,
By an unexpected sadness.
“I don’t know what I am doing here”,
“I know this is sudden,
We barely know each other,
But I need a wife and heir”.
– Epic 12 –
He looked out,
And she stared at him.
“My will is in your favour,
If you will be the mother of,
My child.
I realize this came out of the blue,
But would you consider?”
She thought,
Eyes not meeting.
Each forces of nature,
In the greeting.
Perhaps beating the impossibility,
They could ever be.
An attractive, wealthy man,
But so lonely.
Wherever he had been,
Whatever he had done,
Or what he may have seen,
To her didn’t matter.
And on these terms,
Love had begun.
– Epic 13 –
On that beech that day,
As heads lay together shared love,
But saying the time
Was brushed,
With shared love.
Nothing rushed,
And when finished,
She held him.
He had died.
His body still warm,
She cried.
She said she loved him,
And a voice answered,
I guarantee you will see him again.
