Drifting lifeless body, floating in this dirty old river,

Looking at her now still body, motionless, without life to shiver,

She must have thrashed about a lot, trying to grasp the muddy bank,

She must have been held, anything else in this river would have sank,

She went under a few times her bloated corpse shows, 

That she breathed the foul water, through both her mouth and nose,

It slowly filled her lungs with liquid sewerage, to capacity,

Her body took the shape of someone who ate with voracity.

She gasped for air, trying desperately to prolong her life, 

Then back under.

 

She would relive moments of her life as flashbacks,

Vivid, poignant moments, now considered a death tax, 

She would relive her wedding day, many years ago,

Possibly her happiest, the star of the show,

Princess white satin dress, accessories of blue,

Lily of the valley in her hair, wearing diamante shoes,

The reception speeches spoke only of her radiant beauty,

In the words of the song ’she was a real hot patootie’.

She gasped for air, trying desperately to prolong her life, 

Then back under.

  

She must have relived the children's birth, Andrew and Annalee,

No one thought she’d have twins, there were no others in the family,

With Andy and Anna born, that was family done,

The twins changed her from a dutiful wife to focused mom.

But driven to succeed, to be the best she could,

She would resurrect her career, ambitions from childhood.

She trained as a lawyer, like her dad and grandfather 

Make them both proud, prove she was a whole lot smarter.

She gasped for air, trying desperately to prolong her life, 

Then back under. 
 

She would have relived the memory of her loves,

The latest and the best, no-one was equal to, or above.

He had swept into her life and swept her off her feet,

He helped her understand, make love more replete,

He showed her the heights of lovemaking she desired,

She wasn't sure this was available or could be acquired,

She was so much happier than she had been for a while,

He made her so happy, she learned to laugh, sing, and smile.

She gasped for air, trying desperately to prolong her life, 

Then back under.

 

She needed to escape the mundane, be free at last, 

There was no time for mediocre memories of her past,

Forward her future, herself and her one true love,

Everything else was to be carefully disposed of,

She made her exit plan, complex and very detailed,

She covered every eventuality, every nuance nailed,

She set these final plans of hers in motion,

She concluded her business without fuss or commotion.

She gasped for air, trying desperately to prolong her life, 

Then back under. 

 

Finances sorted, and her clients finished

Her contact with others was slowly diminished

Children were sent to summer camp, at the lakes

The house was sold without pain or heartaches

All her correspondence was shredded

Nothing required, not the way life was headed

And the day came she would be with him soon

Together, as for any criticism, they were immune

She gasped for air, trying desperately to prolong her life, 

Then back under. 

 

She had arrived earlier at the rendezvous, 

No sight of him yet, but then he had things to do

But ten miles away her lover was dead

A fatal mugging, he’d been shot in the head

She sat on the bank wiping her tear-stained eyes

Waiting an eternity for him in vain, she now realised.

But she was here, she had waylaid her past, and survived

She needed to move on, alone, to the future she’d contrived

She gasped her last gasp, trying desperately to prolong her life, 

Then back under. 

 

Now she was never going to come up alive

Her breath now gone, no one would be able to revive  

She now breathed neither water nor breathed any air

Both lovers are now dead, a fatal end of the affair

 

It's funny how the husband is the last one to know

That his wife’s behaviour has sunk so low 

That she has sold his life, his home, his heart,

Even his two children and he, are apart,

 

She couldn’t just walk away and leave him

With life in tatters, him to be mourning and grieving,

A wife who’s just absconded, now not feigning dead 

I can remove my hands from the back of her head.

 

Her plans were meticulous, she needs to be praised

It took many weeks not just a couple of days

But using her secrecy and my knowledge of her plan

I can take all the money and become a new man

 

The police have no suspects in the lover’s undoing

They think it’s a mugger so it’s not worth pursuing

And they will never find her in this desolate spot

I’ve weighed her down firmly in the mud, she can rot