Wordplay

Stories of love told in a background voice,

innocence waits discreetly, hands folded.

Panic hisses at solace “your money or your life”.

Confusion, at the table, ate its fill and left no tip.

Understanding, unable to attend, sends regrets:

guilt as usual overplays its hand.

Contentment, thin and weak, barely makes it through the door,

Satisfaction appears, as always, only partly realized.

Resentment, in its cheap suit, wastes no time saining memories.

Truth, always elusive, sits quietly in a corner

while Enlightenment remains cleverly concealed,

and recognition enters only in fits and starts.

Belief crosses the threshold empty handed.

Uninspired troubadour provides entertainment.

Defender of requiem concedes defeat.

Another cynic mulls the lifespan of love.

Confidence waits in vain for an opening.

Determination falters, cannot decide.