Once, my heart would not give way.
It was a decadent sadness,
A sweet hell in which to decay.
Indulgent and cloying, nonetheless.
And it couldn't be lust my heart contained,
But rather love with which it was stained.
Because I was above it, so I thought.
Better than a libido and a will to use it:
"Here's something pure that I've got!
And I am loath to abuse it!"
But the cleansing gyre of seasons
Expose the heart's selfish treasons.
It’s been a long time since she was a stranger,
Practically ages since my heart thrilled
To see her smile, since I felt the danger
Of a future unsure, of a love untried.
And she was never at fault,
It was my heart’s cynical gestalt.
Though it was a long time in coming,
She was quietly patient of me.
It was in her compassionate knowing
That a friendship flowered peacefully.
I’m unprepared for her to leave,
But I haven’t any right to grieve.
Time passed and we grew older, together,
but separate. She had her interests
And I mine. She and I, friends forever
But hidden under matching palimpsests.
Oh she won’t forget, I won’t forget.
A friendship fulfilled, we won’t regret.
Spring of 2016
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