I am a ronin of love
With no master to serve
A woman to cherish
Care for and look after
Whom I can call my own

Floating away with false abandon
Through the sea spray of chaos that is the world
All I can do is meander
Get into mischief and
Drown myself stupid into
The platitudes of easy joy
Scraping my way to the next morning
Because it's that or face
How useless I've become

How nongermane a life! Devoid of
The burden of commitment
The ball chain of "us"
Or the flavourless of the banal
As long as we do it together

Freedom is a young man's game
No taste nor need for the bliss of duty
That would be too much weight
But that's not me anymore
I took a bite at the better stuff

The drudgery of the mundane
The narrowness of having to share
When there was nothing left
Or attending to the menial that couldn't wait
When I didn't have it in me

Pesky shackles that give
Falling asleep side by side
Laughing at the overcooked dinner
Or just being here
All its meaning
So unremarkable
And yet so deep
Until Death do us apart
Quite right!

I miss it
I want it back
But for now
I am a ronin of love
Waiter! Bring me another drink
May the wine wash away
The sadness and the shame
But I don't think it will.