To a friend betrayed
How wrong I was, friend,
In those months when we would meet.
Perhaps I loved you
Too much, in ways unwanted.
How blind I was to you then.
After months apart,
Returning to our own lives,
Do I now realize
That I disrespected you,
Even while speaking of “love.”
I wanted it all--
I craved affection from you,
And you were patient
With me, for all of those months
Enduring my weaknesses.
How loving was I
Insisting on my desires,
Making you feel
Highly uncomfortable
And calling it “openness”?
I was selfish, friend,
Forcing my cravings on you.
You kept saying “No,”
But I heard only “my heart,”
And kept demanding more love.
I abused your trust,
As now I must acknowledge.
If you were present,
With genuine contrition.
I would beg your forgiveness.
Rain was streaming down
When we last met for coffee.
Still I insisted;
And you glanced down at your hand,
The gold band round your finger.
—Wm. P. McKane
26 January 2020
In those months when we would meet.
Perhaps I loved you
Too much, in ways unwanted.
How blind I was to you then.
After months apart,
Returning to our own lives,
Do I now realize
That I disrespected you,
Even while speaking of “love.”
I wanted it all--
I craved affection from you,
And you were patient
With me, for all of those months
Enduring my weaknesses.
How loving was I
Insisting on my desires,
Making you feel
Highly uncomfortable
And calling it “openness”?
I was selfish, friend,
Forcing my cravings on you.
You kept saying “No,”
But I heard only “my heart,”
And kept demanding more love.
I abused your trust,
As now I must acknowledge.
If you were present,
With genuine contrition.
I would beg your forgiveness.
Rain was streaming down
When we last met for coffee.
Still I insisted;
And you glanced down at your hand,
The gold band round your finger.
—Wm. P. McKane
26 January 2020