Fifteenth Round

Promised I would never fess up
That I would never write about that day
You and I
Went to opposite corners of the ring
The bell sounding
As we both silently
With little fanfare
Rose from our stools
And exited to our separate dressing rooms
 
Enduring fifteen rounds behind closed doors
I wallowed in the bliss of the conflict
Points scored
With velvet gloves and midnight kisses
And I let you win as many rounds as you wished
I just wanted to be in the same ring with you
And no one ever knew
We both would end up taking a dive
Like Bootney and Fortieth Street Black
A sudden end to a record-breaking pay-per-view event
 
I was singing the Atlantic Starr lead
Feeling every day that
your heart was no longer in it
But you never told me so
Had me goin’ around in circles
But you never really knew
How big my circle was
 
Nancy Wilson sang to me one night
Guess who I saw today
But I didn’t want to believe it
Yet
Could not deny the authority of the one
Chirping it in my ear late one night
And quite excellently on key
 
The bell sounding for the start of the
fifteenth round
But I was through
And some little Nancy Wilson bird told me the night before
So were you
The ref imploring us to touch gloves once more
the center of the ring
Three more minutes to a decision
Looking back at it now
At you
At me
I am still
The undefeated champion