An American (Bad) Dream

The Theme of this poem was "Snog Marry Avoid". I wrote it on 22 November 2013. For the anti-penultimate (!) line to rhyme, you should really read the poem with a suitable accent.

Snog Marry Avoid - An American Bad Dream

It was so long ago in New York State
That I first saw the face that changed my life.
An instant that would redirect my fate:
I had no plans to make that girl my wife.
Jumping up and down at CBGBs
That’s where we were - the room exuding heat.
The drink would lead us to heebie-jeebies
But that was after we’d danced off our feet.
A smile, a look, we danced and moved nearer
Perspiring like a Central Park jogger.
Her aim, like mine, could not be much clearer
So close, we knew that soon I would snog her.

And there it started, attraction that’s so
Indicative: the exuberance of youth;
When hormones fire, when lips engage, you know  
The brain is not in charge, and that’s the truth.
The next few months together, how they sped;
And then, one night as I thought “Time to go”,
She turned to me, as we lay in our bed
 “I’m late,” she said, and tears started to flow.
She blubbed, “I’ll bloat and you’ll leave me for good
And I’ll look like an aircraft carrier!”
I felt protective, knowing that I would
Stay by her side, that I would marry her.

There was no child, it was a false alarm
(That’s something I did not know at the time)
So down the aisle we walked, our arms in arm.
A sentence began, but what was my crime?
Her mom, her dad, her drugged up brother, too
Moved in our home with us – not my idea.
My bride took their side, never mine. It’s true.
A marriage of convenience I fear.
Her gambling dad, incessant derision,
The brother arrested, charged with “moider.”
My wife? No life. I made a decision.
I left them all. And now I avoid her.