He knew the material, old though it was,
Could compromise everything, simply because
The lies he'd constructed for thirty-odd years
Foundationed his marriage and lucky career.

She'd memorised every single word,
Catalogued miserable to absurd:
Bright red lust in electric noise,
Chinese takeaweays; the internet boys;
Blue experimental headaches;
Secret unrequited heartbreaks.

Dismissed from her simpler, sunny town
The joy or shit was about to go down:
Confession, attempted explanations;
A special journey or decapitation.

Sweating like a rapist hoping for amnesia,
Remembering the fantasies before they got so sleazier,
He looked across London, into Heathrow
And braced himself for deep winter snow.