The War (1-Sep-1987)

Written over a decade ago but as true and poignant today as ever. It's funny how the more things change, the more they remain the same...both within and without.

I found this in a journal and there was a double spacing between the second and third stanzas. I do not know if this was intended as two separate poems or as one but I like the abrupt change in tempo when presented this way.

The War

If I am not who I think I am
Then it is because you have set me at war
    with myself.
I need you
But don’t want to need you.
Love you
But can’t afford to love you.

I do not know if I should believe the
    words I tell others.
Perhaps I am lying to them.
Yet I must lie to myself.
Because if I admit that I love you
Then I am forced to accept the fact that
    you do not love me.

An eagle rising
Far above the dessert,
Sees for an instant
The motion that signals his meal.
A dinner bell unperceived by all
But he.

A mouse scurrying
Thru a carpet of sand
Feels the wind upon his back.
He knows that the storm is his
And shuts his eyes.