The Bottom Line

The Bottom Line

I stood on the burning deck of my life
Watched my horizon unravel in the storm
Between my 5 O'Clock shadow
And your indifferent lips
I spied the zip on the dress you wore

Beneath the shadeless lamp of anxiety
And the contempt of these marble floors
I choked on the toxic atmosphere
Of false regret
And the cyanide of remorse

I remember you
In your laboratory
Your tests said my condition
Was not benign.
You showed me
How you filtered
The impurities
And with your litmus
Always find that
Bottom line

Now I've dissected out the margins of delusion
Then I annointed all your very holy sores
Though on a thread of nylon
A heretic I hung
On the gallows of the lingerie you adorned

If I'd offered you the lymph
Of this most sacred bee
Or the fleece from this vast
Renaissance sky
Would you take from me
My chalice of Hemlock
If I quote Shakespeare
And you tell me all your lies

O I see you in your coat
So white and virginal
Pipetting buffer
Until the mixture looks like wine
I miss you in the evenings
I miss all your miracles
But they can't help us
As we approach
The bottom line

At the end we all file out of this cinema
In solitude we
Recall our favourite scenes
I'll offer you some chocolate
Help you on with your scarf
You'll mention Bergman
Then I'll ask you what you mean?

Is this what we call love?
Is this humanity?
Self-interest
In a gaberdeen disguise
I miss our rendezvous
When I could be your Harry Lime
But Harry can't help us
Once we've crossed
The Bottom line