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THE MAYOR'S
PROLOGUE
"Madame Mayor, it's now your turn
to tell
A tale," the bartender said. "You must know well
The wily
ways of politics and power.
There's plenty there to while away an
hour,
Though I would rather that you take less time
Since soon
enough the gambling's end will chime."
"I'll speak of love and
marriage," the mayor said,
"But from a woman's point of view. You've
led
Us to believe that women are to blame
For putting out too soon
love's lambent flame.
But men are far more faithless, there's no
doubt,
As in this next sad tale you'll find out!"
THE MAYOR'S
TALE
Candace was still virgin at
eighteen,
Innocent by choice, and not too keen
On being just a notch
on some boy's pride,
Not loved sufficiently to be a
bride.
Although she burned with natural desire,
She knew how best to
mitigate that fire
By letting it burn awhile, for time would
tell
How much a suitor loved her, and how well.
She had learned
this lesson from a bird,
And lest you think this statement sounds
absurd,
Recall with what good sense a parrot speaks,
While crows
make tools of wires with their beaks.
Aesop's crow put stones into
a cup
To bring the level of the water up
To where he could put down
his beak and drink.
Now who says that an animal can't think?
As
recently was proven, when a crow
Did this in a lab, as all well
know.
Birds marry, cheat, divorce, and mourn their dead
Just as
we do, as is often said,
And feel the pangs of passion and
desire,
The joys of parenthood, the inner fire
That welds two into
one, so that we see
Never one, but two, where e'er they be.
And
they can speak, albeit in songs and cries,
Which translate into truths
and also lies --
Yes, birds lie as we do, for the same
Reasons, both
utility and shame.
But enough! All know this all too
well!
Back to Candace! There's a tale to tell!
One day as she
was walking through a park,
A place one wouldn't frequent after
dark,
With thickets that could hide all sorts of crimes,
She heard
deep moans, so pitiful at times
That she was moved to search for who
might be
Crying out in pain so piteously.
She searched in places
dangerous to go,
Driven by anxiety to know
Whether she might
alleviate the pain
That would such grievous wailing sustain.
In
a little while she found a bird
In such distress she could not say one word,
A female falcon bleeding from her breast,
Perched on a branch
far from any nest.
As she cried she plucked hard at her heart
As
though she meant to tear her breast apart.
"Dear falcon," Candace
said. "Please, what might be
The sorrow that you suffer in that
tree?
Pray come down and perch upon my shoulder,
And tell me of your
pain. Though you are older,
Perhaps you will find comfort just in
sharing
Your story with a listener who is caring."
"Oh, what's
the good of counting down this sorrow?"
The bird replied. "I won't be
here tomorrow
With any luck. My heart cannot long bear
This burden!
But my tale I would share
In hope that you might well avoid my
fate,
If for saving you it's not too late.
"You look so kind and
innocent, I must
Warn you of what men you shouldn't trust.
Ah! If
only someone had warned me!
But to the tale, as you shall shortly
see.
"I was once young and innocent as you,
All hot to love, but very mindful, too,
Of all the snares that men put in our way
To have their fun, then leave before we lay
Our eggs. But we
can't hatch them on our own,
For we must eat, and eggs won't hatch alone.
"It takes two to raise our little chicks,
And long, hard
work, so schemers use their tricks
To make us think they love us, all
the while
Lying through their beaks! Oh, how they smile
And flatter
us! To make us think we were
The very pitch of grace! Such words would
stir
A stone to longing! And they seem so true,
Coming from a male
point of view,
A mirror in which we ourselves can see
Precisely as
we always dreamed we'd be!
"I must admit, I lusted after
those
Who courted me with poetry, not prose,
Who trembled with
desire for my love
And played so well the music that would move
My
heart, while I danced tipsy to their tune,
Drowning in the liquor of
their swoon!
"Of course in time I fell in love with one
Who
seemed so handsome, strong, and full of fun,
So much in love with me,
so quick and sure,
He seemed he could be nothing less than
pure.
"I gave myself to him, and thought no boy
Again could
bring me to such perfect joy.
And so we were a pair, I thought for
life,
And went to build our nest as man and wife.
"But just as
he was so in love with me,
My lover was enamored serially,
Truly,
truly passionate about
Each present love in turn, wholly without
The
need for artifice, though well he knew
He would move on as soon as he
was through.
"We had not hatched our first ill-fated brood
When
he turned nasty, in an ugly mood,
Irritable with having to
supply
Our chicks with food, asking himself why
He'd gotten so
entangled in my snare,
As though I were the one who put him
there!
Oh, God! It was so painful just to hear him
That soon I
couldn't suffer being near him!
"But we took turns at guarding well
our nest
While the other hunted without rest.
It's hard, hard work
to raise a hungry brood,
To supply ourselves and them with
food,
While those romantic males, good for love,
Poor husbands and
providers often prove,
For all they would pursue is their own
pleasure,
And their own happiness is all they treasure,
Loving till
the ecstasy is done,
Then on the lookout for another one.
"As
my far-roving husband did, and when
He found another willing, virgin
hen,
He disappeared, leaving me alone
With five young chicks to
manage on my own!
"Ah, my dear one! Listen to my tale,
And learn
to recognize those who will fail
To do what's right once love becomes for life,
And what was once a wench becomes a wife.
"For those
who will excite the hottest lust
Are those who vanish quickly when they
must
Do their share of drudgery, while they
Who might not women's
hearts so quickly sway,
Are likely to make husbands good and
true,
Their bonds of glory ever to renew!
"But you cannot
imagine my despair
Since you are not a bird. Just see me
there
Waiting by my nest for his return,
Waiting, waiting, waiting,
just to learn
From a passing friend what he had done,
Nesting
somewhere with another one!
"What was I to do? My chicks cried
out
With hunger! And as for now I was without
A mate to watch the nest
as I found food,
I had to leave my chicks for their own
good,
Circling back and forth so I could see
Whether they were safe.
But presently
I spied a tasty squirrel on the ground
And dove for
him. I could not look around,
But took him in my beak into the
air
And turned to see my chicks no longer there!
"Ah!" I
screamed. "Oh, no! Please no!" and dropped
The squirrel to the ground.
Time just stopped,
As though the clock were shattered at that
hour,
And so would ever read. I flew to scour
The area around my
nest and found
Some tell-tale feathers scattered on the
ground,
Evidence of massacre, but none
Of my poor babes survived --
not even one!
"Then how the hatred filled me like a fire,
And I
flew out to find that wretched liar
Who talked of love undying for his
pleasure,
While all he cared about was joy and leisure!
"Days I
flew until I found him near
Another paramour, his latest
dear,
The two about to breed another brood
For him to abandon! I
could not help intrude!
"'Stop!' I cried, 'or it will be too
late
To save your chicks from my poor chicks' sad fate!
This cad
abandoned me, as I am sure
He's done to many an innocent and
pure
Virgin, who believes his loving lies,
And gives herself to
still his plaintive cries.
"'He loves himself alone, and females
are
But mirrors to his solitary star,
Proof of prowess, proof that
he exists,
Something he's not sure of without lists
Of conquests,
since his soul is so alone.
Save yourself! His heart is made of
stone!'
"Off the female flew, and so he turned,
Oblivious to the
hatred he had earned.
'Sorry!' he said. 'I see your jealousy
Has
turned your vicious temper against me.
What have I done? Would you have
me stay
With you when love is gone? Why, I pray?
You want me to
pretend my love for you,
To murmur lovely words that aren't
true?
"'I pledge myself to an authentic life,
A value even
higher than a wife,
And would for both our sakes' be honest, so
What
we see will be what we will know.
You should be grateful for my
honesty,
So you might also live authentically.'
"'Our chicks are
dead!' I cried. 'The price of your
Excuses! Now between us there is
war!'
And so we fought until I broke his neck,
And he fell bleeding
from the skies, a wreck
That did not touch my sorrow, not at
all,
For I felt nothing as I saw him fall.
My grief so swallowed up
my victory
That vengeance held no bit of joy for me."
The bird
flew back upon her branch and cried
As though all torn to pieces deep
inside.
"Please go!" she said to Candace. "Leave me now!
But if you
care for me, remember how
I suffered, and avoid my tragic
fate!
"And to your fellow females please relate
This tale of
perfidy and fatal woe,
That they might in time this harsh truth
know:
That men whom women lust for love them not.
So do not listen
to romantic rot
But look for men who mean the things they say,
And
who, though they seem dull, at least will stay.
Now go, and do not seek
me out tomorrow!
Only death will mitigate my sorrow."
Candace
blew the bird a kiss and turned
To leave, taking to heart what she had
learned,
Remaining virgin till she was mature
Enough to judge the
lure within allure,
And when she married virgin, married well.
That
is all. I have no more to
tell.
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