Our Kind of Warfare

A Poem

Photo by Eugene Chystiakov on Unsplash

heartbreak warfare —
some has-been singer’s old song
shouldn’t strike such a chord now
especially since i fired the first shot

maybe we both committed
our handful of war crimes —
me with all my clever tricks
and you with your mind games

and i don’t want to fight
or argue
or darken a shade
too far past brilliance

and i don’t want to forget
the way you made me feel
after the long drought
i barely survived

everyone always leaves —
that’s what i learned
from previous battles
in wars i ultimately lost

my heart’s too soft,
i know that now,
but i still keep trying
to love with all i have

and the bruises —
maybe they’re self-inflicted
from all the times i tell myself
i’ll never be good enough for anyone