"Brief Visit"

BRIEF VISIT

I've swallowed many a bitter fruit,

Served by you,

With a smile I always trusted to be sincere.

I ignore the whispers behind my back

And once again make the journey to see you.

My smile mirrors your own as you stand before me,

To greet me,

Your "I love you" hanging beside your head

Like a word balloon in a comic strip.

I reach out to touch what I think is you.

Too late, I realize that it isn't you at all

(At least, not the "you" I'd hoped to see again

After all this time!),

But instead, a false sheet of stiff paper
Bearing your image.

As the beckoning, deceitful photograph of you
Collapses and tumbles to the ground,

Taking its "I love you"

And all of my hopes with it,

I feel the cold and familiar steel

Of the knife -- your knife -- as it strikes my back.

Saved yet again by my calluses!

I'm toughened, but never hardened, you see.

I grant myself few limitations

But have the sense to see them where they exist.

I am honestly, truly content
To enjoy the beauty
Of life's many rainbows

Without ever expecting or demanding
A pot of gold at their end.

Your blade falls, broken and useless.

I step forward, never looking back to see the real you.

Instead, I glance downward wistfully,

Looking at your false but loving image,

Which lies crumpled on the ground
Along with so many cherished memories from the past.

I step around the life-size photograph.

(Around it, but not upon it.)

Then, as always,
I continue walking along my private path.

Same time next year, my dear one?

*  *  *  *  *

To paraphrase Sigmund Freud, "Sometimes a poem is only a poem."

Every so often, I'll write a short story or a poem which has absolutely nothing to do with my personal life, but one or more of my readers infer(s) that it does. So, just for the record, let me state that at the moment, I am on very good terms with all of my friends, relatives, and loved ones.

Again, to paraphrase Sigmund Freud, "Sometimes a poem is only a poem."

The copyrighted illustration at the top of the page is a papercut by the immensely talented Suzy Taylor at Folk Art Papercuts, and is used with her very gracious permission! A perusal of her site and her intricate creations will surely impress you, as it did me.

Thanks for your time.