Deviousness

de·vi·ous (dē'vē-əs)
adj.
Not straightforward; shifty: a devious character.
Departing from the correct or accepted way; erring: achieved success by devious means.
Deviating from the straight or direct course; roundabout: a devious route.
Away from a main road or course; distant or removed.

[From Latin dēvius, out-of-the-way : dē-, de- + via, road; see wegh- in Indo-European roots.]
de'vi·ous·ly adv., de'vi·ous·ness n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.

I Made A Mistake

I reached up into the top of the closet
and took out a pair of blue panties
and showed them to her and
asked "are these yours?"

and she looked and said,
"no, those belong to a dog."

she left after that and I haven't seen
her since. she's not at her place.
I keep going there, leaving notes stuck
into the door. I go back and the notes
are still there. I take the Maltese cross
cut it down from my car mirror, tie it
to her doorknob with a shoelace, leave
a book of poems.
when I go back the next night everything
is still there.

I keep searching the streets for that
blood-wine battleship she drives
with a weak battery, and the doors
hanging from broken hinges.

I drive around the streets
an inch away from weeping,
ashamed of my sentimentality and
possible love.

a confused old man driving in the rain
wondering where the good luck
went.

Charles Bukowski