Eluned stands alone beneath the clock,

A crimson petal topples from her breast

And lands beside a tear upon the deck;

The ghost she loves has failed to manifest.

A cabbie drops her off at her retreat

Where she’ll be greeted by a single bed,

A manuscript typeset with his conceit --

Conjured from the proofs inside her head.

Inside his cell he’s mad because he’s lost

His set-free date and he’ll not be with her  

At lift off time; a rose displays the cost

Of misbehaviour -- dies for want of air.

And on the day of days she’ll celebrate

While he’s still locked away and celibate.