Saving Him Again

A promise not to let myself go

Photo by Stormseeker on Unsplash

Why should a man give up
the treasures of self-hood
and pleasure when anything less
than that has the scent of death?
I tried to hate my life
and care more for someone
else’s glory, but all the while
I watched myself sink slowly
into a pool of inky regret, and,
paralyzed by anger at those
who preached and these big ears
that listened hard,
I couldn’t do a thing.

A man should recognize his old self
and, loving him, pull him out slowly, eye to eye…