A Model of Decorum and Tranquility

By 5 am the floor was strewn with the remains
Of a pillow burst in battle. Cigarette smoke
Obscured the far wall, and cans of Coke
Were thrown in heaps with bottles of champagne.

While someone cowered in the closet on a bad trip
And drunkards laughed in the hall smoking pot
Two fighters dressed in black were lost in thought,
Staring at a chessboard, eating chips.

While their friends caroused getting drunk or laid
The goth in studded leather and black-dyed hair
And his foe with a T-shirt and old jeans
Showed signs of concentration which betrayed
The quiet intellect and pensive air
The party would have otherwise kept unseen.

A Model of Decorum and Tranquility, as originally written by Tim Rice, © 1988, Three Knights Ltd.