No Longer Dancing

[Brownlie]

brownlie/ellajam edit 1

No Longer Dancing

I won’t dance the mambo on your window ledge;
hoof your soft-shoe all winter, bogged down by snow. --Well I like this change quite a bit
A marriage can not waltz on a stiletto's edge. -- This one adds an extra syllable to the line, and I still think there may be a better refrain out there but I would hate to be too taxing on your patience.

Your last volley of insults has driven a wedge
as deep as that hollow from where your voice bellows.
I will not do the mambo on your window ledge.

There’s no enduring passion left for you to dredge;
I nearly drowned before in your cruel undertow
in this marriage that waltzes the stiletto's edge.

From a forest of guilt, this lovebird has fledged
your wretched nest, which harbors nothing but sorrow.
I won’t dance a last mambo on the window ledge

on my term's final eve. I've cleared the boxwood hedge.
Your love seat of thorns sits empty, now that you know
that I will not waltz with you on a stiletto's edge.

You’re banished from my life, this is a sober pledge.
A new vista’s rousing. Can you hear the cock crow?
I’ll never dance the mambo on your window ledge.
A marriage does not waltz on a stiletto's edge.

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(My NaPM Villanelle that ellajam encouraged me to workshop)

No Longer Dancing

I won’t dance the mambo on your window ledge;
hoof a soft-shoe in quicksand, bogged down by woe.
A relationship can't waltz on a dagger's edge.

Your last volley of insults has driven a wedge
deeper than that hollow from where your voice bellows.
I will not do the mambo on your window ledge.

There’s no enduring passion left for you to dredge
up; I nearly drowned once in your cruel undertow
in a relationship waltzing the dagger’s edge.

From a forest of guilt, this lovebird has fledged
your wretched nest, which harbors nothing but sorrow.
I won’t dance a last mambo on the window ledge

on my term's final eve. I've cleared the boxwood hedge.
Your love seat of thorns sits empty, now that you know
that I will not waltz with you on a dagger’s edge.

You’re banished from my life; this is a sober pledge.
A new vista’s rousing. Can you hear the cock crow?
I’ll never dance the mambo on your window ledge.
A relationship can’t waltz on a dagger's edge.

Happy editing if you choose to go that route.