Loveⁿ = Painⁿ

 

The face in the mirror

Mocks the smile

It sees

And does not hide

The etched lines

Time placed there

From too many

Sad moments.

He's gone home now.

The hours we spent

Talking

Laughing

And touching

Turn from blissful pleasure

To anxiety

As he closes the door

Behind him.

What I feel for him

Causes the pain

My stomach remembers

When I loved before.

Reach out

Love

Rejection

Pain.

The litany of passion

For another

Always the same.

Now, the reaction

Becomes instinct.

After the feelings begin

Before the rejection

Now is fear.

 

The fear of pain----

A natural reaction

To feelings of

Extreme pleasure

And exhilaration:

Such irony.

Should I run away?

Should I become numb?

Or should I wait

In fear?

Should I be fool enough

To hope

Someday he may love me,

Too.

 

 

B. Benjamin                                                                                         

BBP145