There were whispered promises in the air

Jealous ears tried to steal,

And love in inebriated eyes.

There were dream-sellers too

Vending pretty bottle-fuls

In exchange for all your nightmares.

Hearts bobbed inside tall wine glasses

And hands touched,

Tenderer than before they part.

You touched music with your lips

And hung on to a kiss

As if you had tasted the light of the soul

And night melted away

like the aftertaste in your mouth.

Now the sun’s high on the horizon

And the night’s vapours are gone.

Molts litter the ground

You had danced upon

And the sequined mask

of last night’s Ball

Has welded into your face,

You, forever a Cinderella

In the endless masquerade

that began last night.