If there had been no chaperone
If they’d been able to spend time alone
If she’d not been so painfully shy
If he had dared to hold her eye
If the allocated time had been extended
If she’d thought of him as her intended
If etiquette had permitted touch
If only it didn’t matter so much
If only they’d lived in another age
he wouldn’t now be so full of rage
she wouldn’t be soaking her pillow in tears
both recalling lost chances in after years.