Love Lesson (Poetry)

I was quite sure I loved him
I believed I really did
having won at fancy’s auction
when I placed the boldest bid

I wore him like a trophy
balanced on my show-off arm
crazy for some local culture
ever-hungry for fresh charm

But he proved all gilt and plastic
not the genuine antique
and thus our deep attachment
lasted less than a whole week

Then he told me I was shallow
but I let the insult go
and hoped he’d leave discreetly
so my friends need never know

Well, here endeth love’s sad lesson
totting up the final cost
once we’d chipped the paint off passion
all that cheap illusion’s lost