Hanque O . . . - Death from a Thousand Cuts

for D.W.

You covered your disappointment well,
But I saw it there beneath the grin.

Some things do matter, some are worth the fight,
This loss was merely symptomatic.

Still, I’d rather you not have even that,
Life is brief enough without suffering such pricks.

I suppose it turned out well, you chose escape,
Far better than a lifetime of sad smiles.

I keep your memory alive and unsullied,
And draw upon it on occasion.

As for her, she had cause for regret,
Though she lacked the wit to realize what she’d lost.

It was young love, preordained to fail,
But a lifetime of second best mocks her destiny.

Hanque O . . .

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/death-from-a-thousand-cuts/