Set To Catch A Lover Poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

Has it been that long,
Since I shared that space.
That place I kept sacred,
After gluing back the pieces...
I allowed to become defaced.

I hated to have my heart broken,
By someone I gave it to blindly.
I thought I was safe.
To later learn I participated in a game played.
Feeling trapped without an escape.

Has it been that long,
Since I shared that space.
That place I kept sacred,
To be played with a falling down again...
Upon my face.

Today,
Have I turned my mistakes into treasures I protect?
Am I willing to be touched with a stripping completely naked.
To feel a naïveté another does not expect,
Me to feel or suspect.

Can I accept a love I give,
Not to be returned to me at all?
Or should I fall to be found crawling,
To appear helpless with a need to be released...
From a trap I've set to catch a lover.