Here we are, all over again
having crossed another threshold
of accusation and insult
having arrived at the next level of
you’ve really done it this time
having perpetrated a travesty
exceeding all previous travesties
that each in themselves
dwarf all those that came yet before.

Morning delivers a fragile hope
filtered through a veil
of diffuse apprehension
sullen glaze, swollen silence
a frozen scene betrayed
by the crackle of suspicion
and a dog’s frantic demand
to urinate on flowers
planted in the soil of distrust
under an angry sky
that reviles their very existence.

Two grim soldiers
pledge allegiance
to irrational boundaries of
need and desire
struggling oblivious
to their mirrored aspirations
lashed together
in a mindless dance
that impedes their retreat
to mutual sanctuary.

Sometimes
a well-intended but
misplaced kindness
can in the long term
evolve into
monumental cruelty.