Feelings can't be replicated
they are specific- moments created
each bears its particularity and nuance
every encounter is marked by difference-

(say) a man is attracted to a woman
the first sight induces a wild passion
when they fail in love at a later date
that rush of affection might have disappeared:

of such human nature is made:
there's no known way of escape.

This is the problem of many:
they seek blindly to acquire knowledge
in such a rush that much can't be digested
they are likely to court misery:

I'll be content with the little that I know
in patience to gradually grow
it would be better to excel in a tiny area
than to try to go beyond only to suffer failure.

1 Speak honestly
2.  Act graciously
3.  Accept gratefully
4.  Give generously
5.  Help readily
6.  Befriend selectively
7.  Carry out your work dutifully
8.  Co-operate unfailingly
9  Listen attentively
10.  Observe mindfully
11  Think broadly
12.  Contemplate calmly
13.   Deal justly
14.  Win fairly
15.  Negotiate magnanimously
16.   Aim realistically
17.   Forgive unequivocally
18.   Respect reverently
19   Avoid acting recklessly
20. Pray devoutly

You once told me
That we're bound to
Be star-crossed lovers
Ill-fated by the Norns
Doomed to fail from
The very start

And so we remain
Perfectly unfinished
A bittersweet loose end
Beautifully haunting the
Back of my mind to
The end of my days

I lie
and
I lie
and
I lie

I hide my behavior
to keep you safe.

I keep quiet
not to offend you.

I agree with you
to keep you happy.

I walk on eggshells
for you and
it’s never enough.

I lie
and
I lie
and
I lie

but when the truth
arrives at that
final moment;

jaws will drop
plates will shatter
dogs will growl

and
you’ll be long gone
after seeing what
a ghastly beast
I am

but for now

I lie
and
I lie
and
I lie

to keep us
together.

i know now you’re the only one
i know now i’m the lonely one
i reached for you, but you’re out of reach
this lesson life is cruel to teach

i sang your name like a fragile song
believed in us, but i was wrong
you’ve moved ahead, yet i’m standing still
chasing shadows against my will

i know now love is a fleeting thing
a tether snapped, a severed string
i know now that the past is done
you’re not mine, and i’m no one’s one

when i said “i’m fine”
what i meant was “i’m tired”
not of you, but of trying to be
the version of me you could love

when i said “take care”
what i meant was “please stay”
but goodbye is easier when
it doesn’t sound like begging

when you said “i’m sorry”
what you meant was “it’s over”
i caught the silence between your words
the way it wrapped around my throat

and now, when i say nothing
what i mean is everything
i never knew how to tell you
while you were still listening