A Summing Up (Poetry)

What have I done perceived so bad
deserving punishment and pain?
What sin so-named might drive me mad
but undeterred repeat again?

Quite crazy in some fevered bliss
impossible love’s ricochet
of youth’s impulsive clumsy kiss
then rueful age recalls the day

Two risqué wrongs don’t put to rights
while errors multiply and seed
lust by numbers scales the heights
division sanctifies raw greed

Such is the sum of life’s wild fears
subtract the conscience doomed to care
the balance dwindles with the years
What odds still tempt for those who dare?