The Prime Minister Regrets by Nicholas Murray

The Prime Minister Regrets (October 2022)

That smoking gun, 

warm in my hand,

and the scarlet pool

on the tiled floor;

the white shirt spattered

and the mute stillness

of the cold corpse

might seem to some a proof

(now that you mention it)

of culpable wrong-doing.

But context is important here

and all is not what it seems.

I had no idea that the raised gun

and the pulled trigger

might result in such a scene.

Believe me, sincerely.

Do not rush to judgement,

or call me an arrogant oaf

whose lease is too long extended

who lies, easily, as others breathe

until the truth seems a word

light as an autumn leaf

that falls in a bright spiral

of papery flight, prettily.