The End Game

the hope of battles won & lost
on the battleground of love
for both lover and loved,
for victor & vanquished,
for enamored & unrequited,
is to exit the arena
(somewhat) more whole
rather than less than...

Its a fine wish but one
not often granted, and
for both sides...
For as they say:
"All's fair in love & war"
and them clashes yield
scar upon scar, even
for a winner, for a loved...

I myself have seen, thru
the vision of the heart,
that the pain born via
the very quest of love
- that unquenchable desire
come from the leaving of
the womb, the withdrawal
of the teet, the very first
cries of young life -
is an indelible pain that
does not fade with a
successful romantic campaign
but only evolves and transmutes
into the fear of loss
of the new 'possession' ...

and so never does it end,
this pursuit for a satiation
that will not come,
indeed cannot...