The Death Knell: I Love You... Poem by John Tansey

The Death Knell: I love you

I

Splashing in the pool,
Sidling up to you,

Foolishly,
I say 'I love you';

The death knell.

I love you for what
you cannot love within yourself.

A saving grace you are unable to see in the mirror
I see there within you;

And, that which, I always want to be with;
You, mistaking compassion for weakness,

Laugh, 'I want to be the hunter,
And you are too easy prey.'

II

Then, with a splash of your eyes,
And a fleet foot, turning
You disappear
In a stirring swirl,
With your pooled reflection, just an Afterimage

As you swim away,
Your one true love drowning in its wake

of the backwash....

Dying and still wondering,
Could you have ever been the one
I searched so long for…


Copyright ©2007 John Thomas Tansey