Mocking Grin Poem by Charlotte Ballard

Seated at my Uncle's funeral fire
Are family close, all well attired
In the middle of them like a well fed hen
Is he who took aim, and recompense
A virgin's vow, a promise given.

My face burns as his chin mocks mine
Three lies told, only one is closed.
Husband bare, he stripped me-
Of the future promise given by another.
Leaving me to deal with the fruit within
Without bother from any other hand.
A father extracts a lie,
A promise, a plead of things that are not -
It doesn't matter, now, the blood cleanses all.

I sit up taller, holding a new husband's vow
In my closed palm-
Promises that never faltered.

He mocks me
His eyes dance with the secret he holds.
The virgin's lie is finally over.