i just want you
to know that
it’s not personal.
it’s political.
by which i mean to say,
i take sides –
though
i didn’t take yours.
i have no regrets.
i did not intend
to be unkind.
there was neither obligation,
nor wasted time.
when we were
out in public,
there was something
precious to steward.
we did not.
we wounded
know only
how to wound.
the question was
who would govern
whom? who
exerts control
over the heart, who
the tongue
(a fire applied
judiciously),
consuming.
a consummation,
of a kind.
