You say “I love you.”
“Stop that,” I say.
It’s too new.
It’s too soon.
It’s too...
Stop loving me.
It won’t last.
It won’t work.
It won’t...
Brush it off,
Make light,
Spin it,
Play it off,
Watch me twist and duck and dodge your attempts,
A moving target,
But your aim is improving
And my resolve is fading,
And if you persist,
I fear I shall falter,
And let you win,
Let you claim victory,
Let you covet your prize,
Let you love me.
Yes, let.
I could keep going,
Pushing myself farther away, sprinting
I could continue to bob and weave and strategically strike to evade.
I could continue.
But why?
Why when I am so tired
I could collapse,
want to collapse,
into you
and just stop.
Mind,
body,
soul.
Let it go.
Give up the fight,
Resolve.
I’ve been in defense so long I don’t even know how my body would react.
Would I lose my spark?
Lose my fight?
Cease to exist altogether?
Would I regret...
No.
No regrets.
Only realization.
Epiphany.
Reformation of regulations,
Reconstruction of boundaries left to fade,
Preparing myself for battle once again
Focusing on the fight,
Zeroing in on the target.
I am the target.