R 1 Poem by RIC BASTASA

the injustice of course lies in the
camouflage and she knows all these but she never mentions that to you
for she cannot live
without you that even the hint of
a possibility of
a parting, just the slight movement of the finger
from the hand
she then starts to cry and
touches you and
tells you that you must never leave her
for she has nothing
and no one

you are a man of compromises
and you live between night and day

you always miss the stars but you cannot even be
gazing for them
even for a night

you love to play under the sun and take time at the beach
and play ball and bathe under the softest light
but you cannot have your feet settled on the sands

this is what happens when you have not decided
categorically
one hand in heaven and the other in hell
and your body wiggles as your face is divided
your eyes are crossed
and your feet cannot dance
the way it should have been
done perfectly

on that harmony of love and affection
because you have chosen only one.