NaPoWriMo day twentytwo

he observed the monotony of life;
regretted the necessity of decorum.
 
official documents were sent,
the records full of expenditures.
 
Edward was never permitted
to take any part
in the mediation of a peace—
one of the hardest things to bear.
 
he does not seem to have complained,
loaded with reproaches.
 
*
 
he demanded always that
no mention of her was permitted
in his presence. he had been
accustomed to excess, needed a change
of air, regularly celebrated.
 
Edward conceived a proposal,
the idea warmly and unanimously
slipping through hands accustomed
to the habit of finding excuses.
 
*
 
one thing is certain:
her presence was a costly luxury
when needed
(which happened regularly)
he made pilgrimages to her
rising from the suggestion of trust
between the two
Edward had been inclined
to the idea of power,
the faintest scent of cruelty.
it hardly needs saying, therefore,
that on the occasions of his visits to her
he would fall into the habit of not going.