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In the Tears Themselves

by Ken Harnisch

Was it your righteousness or
My reaction that divided us?
In the aftermath it is hard
To tell, and since life is not
A court of law, there is
No one to take testimony;
No court reporter
To record the plea.

Only now, do I rue the
Outcome. Only now do
I wonder where you are
And if you see the sun
And stars with the eyes
I saw weep all too many
Times. And asking for
The reason brought
No answers. I was too dull to
See the answer in the tears
Themselves.

But staring me down
You mistook pragmatism
For cowardice. Yes, I measured
Words, but only because they
Were like gold to me. And darling,
I knew more than most the harm
That careless prose or
Poetry could do to a psyche
Contrived of spun sugar dreams.

So we moved on, and yet,
I feel to some deflationary end
In which one or the other
Looks out on the horizon and wonders,
But for some compassion absent
In our turgid souls, if we would
Not now be reaching for the sky
Together.

12/23/2011

Posted on 12/23/2011
Copyright © 2025 Ken Harnisch

Member Comments on this Poem
Posted by George Hoerner on 12/23/11 at 02:31 PM

There are so many what ifs in my past. Not that one is better or worse, just different. The worse is the hurt that we may have left for someone else to bear. A really nice write Ken.

Posted by Mo Couts on 12/24/11 at 12:55 AM

Ahh...if only we could go back and then re-live to find our answers, right? This is beautiful and thought provoking, Ken.

Posted by Kate Demeree on 01/03/12 at 10:03 PM

One can almost hear you read this........ Beautiful.... and thoughtfully done!

Posted by Lori Blair on 01/05/12 at 08:18 PM

Heartfelt..one can almost hear the beating of your heart prolonged..Wonderful work!

Posted by Kristine Briese on 01/06/12 at 12:01 AM

You're right, Ken; words are gold. And these are some of the most golden I've seen. Beautiful and romantic, heartfelt and sentimental. Just lovely.

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