beside the limestone road

[fledgist]

 an old marl-hole where rat-bats congregate

bears quiet witness to each hidden sin

not just to what we could not dare to win

by dint of effort and so blame on fate

this is no church for you to desecrate

but a dark place where many lives begin

and those who know will just conceal a grin

for nouns not verbs would seem to conjugate

that was the story when the night turned cold

under a sky as dark as any soul

when all the blame was placed on certain wiles

but others said the cause was merely gold

unwisdom aiming at a pretty goal

that journey will not end for many miles