What goes on underneath those piercing eyes
When they see me?
Do they perceive the joke
I think I am, the saint who hates all lies
Because of all
the promises he broke?
What do you see—an old man acting young,
Or someone young
inside an aging shell?
A ballad fading out or still unsung?
Someone who casts
a shadow or a spell?
I’d like to be a threat, but if you do
See me that way,
just run—run far from me.
I’ll hurt you till the thing you thought was true
Becomes a lie that
wounds you mortally.
Don't trust my words—I want you to believe them.
Don't trust your eyes—I know how to deceive them.
Copyright 2016 Matthew J Wells
4 comments:
Good ... But sooooooooo very dark. In my dotage I see light rather than not ....
He is too kind to be a threat (though he wishes to be one) - he willingly offers up his weapons by warning her -- and yet his kindness is disarming and charming, even as it is full of bluster, bravado and vanity -- a fascinating character! And the scene once she enters?
The scene would be either a bar or a party where both characters have definitely had that One Drink Too Many, the one that would both allow them to cross a line and be their excuse if they ever did. Which, as I write this, is the perfect response sonnet for the young woman. To the Bat-notebook, Robin!
LOL can't wait to read it!
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