This Masquerade

When I reflect back On our time together People were amazed By my patience And my quiet resolve To maintain, The status quo. Such forbearance And fortitude In the face Of her constant betrayals My endurance And boundless tolerance Astounded everyone But to claim any virtue Would be dishonest Because it was so calculated I was not blind To her indiscretions. And to our friends My capacity for forgiveness Seemed to far exceed Her ability to shame me But it was I Who was the dishonest one I maintained an air Of cool dispassion In an effort To give her space And freedom So as not to drive her away I wore the mask Of the patient husband But my noble efforts Were in vain As I appeared to her, Merely indifferent And I drove her away anyway I should have been honest True to my feelings I should have discarded All pretence And removed the mask