Moment of Madness

I did not seek her flame
more she was drawn
by the thrill of a new direction

Hers was the clinical
dispassionate gaze
of a magpie inspecting an egg
unsure of the weakest point
but convinced her attentions
might at last reveal a crack

She possessed a wild
untamed attractiveness
combined with a sure footed elegance
which the more I recognised
appeared to unwind itself about me
in the manner of a rose
running a chimney to weed

Only the poorest love soaked fool
would have denied the dangerous nature
of her beauty
and although I was not in love
I acknowledged such truths desperately
with the sickening certainty
of a falling leaf

But passion too often admits
scant regard for logic
it flies unflinchingly
in the face of common sense
destined to land
with the ferocity of a swooping hawk
wings drawn in tightly
talons braced for the kill

And so it was
I found myself
tiptoeing away from her bed
leaving my best friend's wife
and the ashes of a lifelong friendship
well and truly burned
by a pair of shapely legs