The Waltz

The waltz In her eyes there was a darkness, A secret held there for none to see. She looked at me from lowered lashes, My heart sped up at what was to be. She had come to me earlier that day, To ask if I would go with her plan. Of course I agreed to go along, Her smile alone forced my hand. He was an evil man, Or so she would have me believe. She showed me her many bruises, Hidden beneath her lacy sleeve. My tongue slid nervously, Over my too-dried lips. Could we dare to hope this would work? We could not afford even the slightest slip. Just as we had planned that morn, She lured him out on the balcony. And I followed like a shadow, Confident I hadn’t been seen. We both watched him fall to his death, Not a single tear she shed. She turned to me with a smile, And back inside she led. Many people speculated, That it was an accidental fall. He had had one too many to drink, At the Chapman’s ball. Later that week I heard it all, The talk of the town was high, He had a very large fortune, How lucky for her that he’d died. Now she could go as she pleased, With a man she had meant long ago. A man that her husband forbade her to see, Someone who was now her beau. I realized with a thumping heart, How foolishly I had been played, I had pushed an innocent man off the balcony While the waltz played.