Haunted Poem by Iquo Umoh

Why do I think of you?
Everyday memories remind
Of times spent together
A time cherished indeed
Yet I understand you no more
I tried but I am
Confounded by a new leaf

I never requested your entry
Into my little sphere
Yet each day you wriggled
Into the spot
Meant for one so dear
How you saunter around
And infiltrate your way to me

Heavily guarded is my heart
I have kept every rule
Except with you
For I find they get broken
I make rules
I break them
Such pure irony
Yet I am filled with regret
How easily you got great entry

Trust I desired and found in few
Drawn to be close, to be haunted by you
Trust gave in, to not feel hurt
With the scars of time once lost
And time promises healing
I want not
So I trust not to be hurt
By the one who haunts

My trust is taken for granted
I am nothing but an object of pleasure
I am attractive yet repelling
Oh the dismay to know that I am
But a passing distraction
Giving only the satisfaction of a one night stand

Hurt I am indeed
By the one who haunts me
I love you and I hate you
So on guard I protect myself
From the likes of you that feign innocence
No matter the plea
May the Lord help me to flee

I ask for nothing
You offer something
In the pretext to meet a need
That never existed
And now if I am so abhorred
Why then do you still haunt me?

(15-1-2005)