When I fell in love with Rita,
Life, I thought, could not be sweeter,
Cycling off at dusk to meet her
Near to her abode.
She'd a boyfriend, name of Peter,
Who, I feared, might well mistreat her
So I pedalled ever fleeter
Down that country road.
Left my bicycle to greet her
When I saw my senorita -
It was not her, it was her Peter,
In a hostile mode.
Hold, I cried, it might be meter
Since I'm surely the effeter,
If I offered to delete her
And retired unbowed.
You are dead, cried my defeater,
As he loaded his repeater.
By now I'd lost the yen for Rita
Formerly bestowed.
There are times when it's discreeter
To admit you've lost and beat a
Quick retreat and, toute de suite,
Strike the episode.
That was what occurred with Rita
And I left her to her Peter.
P'raps he made her life completer
But it never showed.
Joe Pamanian