Deception

Many skirt
The issue.
The time is short
And dearly bought.
A tissue
Of lies
And midnight sighs.

A girl growing up forsook
The straight path and took
A step down a perilous track.
One may turn back
But many lack
The will.

In the still
Of night
Delight
For one.
A soul is gone
And time rolls on.

Greying hairs.
She swears
All is not lost
And counts the cost
Of fixed smiles
And denials
No longer believed
By those she deceives.