The Center

The Center
By Mark Spencer

That evening Larry sat alone,
And drank the world away.
But he could not forget the things
That haunted him that day.

He found a picture of his wife,
Kissing another man.
He learned that it had been a year
Since her affair began.

So he packed everything he could,
And stormed right out the door.
He got a room down at the Sands.
On the eleventh floor.

He took his bags up to his room,
Then headed for the bar.
While Dino played the Copa Room,
He listened from afar.

And for the next six weeks or more,
This was Larry's routine.
He would drown in his misery,
While listening to Dean.

And this would be the stepping stone,
To the rest of his life.
Though life was not much better for
His children and his wife.

Her lover took her as his bride,
And life went south from there.
He gambled and abused her kids,
And had a new affair.

One night her husband disappeared,
And suspecting foul play,
The cops collected evidence,
Then took Larry away.

It wasn't long before they found
A body in the sand.
Examiners were sure the man
Was killed by Larry's hand.

A jury found Larry guilty
And sentenced him to life.
For killing his ex-wife's husband,
With a large kitchen knife.

His wife would marry three more times,
Before the kids were grown.
While they, in turn, followed this road,
To heartbreaks of their own.

So pay attention to this tale,
If you should choose to wed.
Life's tapestry is but as strong,
As the weave's weakest thread.

A family has a center,
A husband and a wife.
And everything surrounding them,
Depends on them for life.

But if the center comes undone,
The family will fold.
For life to stand against the strain,
The center HAS to hold.

End.