Bridge End Gardens

They met
Under the non-existent beady eye
Of a headless stork
In ornamental gardens
At midnight
Perfect hedges shrouded them
And he tried not to think
About the wedding ring
That lay quietly
In the depths of his pocket.

She stood
Staring at koi carp
As they swam in circles
Beneath the dank surface
And pushed the thought
Of him starting the night shift
To the back of her mind
Instead she listened
To the little statue boy
Peeing into the pond.

He smiled
And took her hand
Led her past the maze
And past Michelangelo’s David
To a perfect circle of grass
And a neat bed of blooms
In the shadows
His lips fell on her lips
And she whispered, again
‘This is the last time’.