The Hard Way

By Elizabeth Harper

Let me learn this
the hard way
on my knees
with no other means
to pay
for lessons
I’d rather
do without
truths
I want
to forget
as soon as
they’re found out


Let me try to fix this
the hard way
with starts and stops
so many steps back
I fall with no cushion
on a mat of harsh rope
unraveling
the dirty and ragged
welcome mat
for a home
marked
for demolition


Let me love
the hard way
a broken heart the only given
a mockery of all I’ve striven
to say in a kind and honest way
no consolation prize
no “thanks for playing”
no “see you next time”
no gratitude
no appreciation
only the sad knowledge
of a fool forsaken