If he and she do not know each other, and feel confident
they will not meet again; if he avoids affectionate words;
if she has grown insensible skin under skin; if they desire
only the tribute of another’s cry; if they employ each other
as revenge on old lovers or families of entitlement and steel-
then there will be no betrayals, no letters returned unread,
no frenzy, no hurled words of permanent humiliation,
no trembling days, no vomit at midnight, no repeated
apparition of a body floating face-down at the pond’s edge
(Donald Hall)
More Poetry from Donald Hall:
Donald Hall Poems based on Topics: Body, Cry, Betrayal- Tubes (Donald Hall Poems)
- Ox Cart Man (Donald Hall Poems)
- The Things (Donald Hall Poems)
- Gold (Donald Hall Poems)
- The Painted Bed (Donald Hall Poems)
- Je Suis une table (Donald Hall Poem)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Cry Poems, Body Poems, Betrayal PoemsBased on Keywords: avoids, face-down