For my own Good

I think

that I know you too well for

my own good

the inflections in your voice

and the variations of your smile

sometimes the way your body leans

or the tilt of your hand

do you know you hold your mouth that way

and that you avoid my eyes

when you lie?

 

I know you too well for your own good

that you hide behind

that thick skin

(this won't be love, this can't be, it's doomed to fail)

you whisper beneath your very breath

 

I've read this playbook before

and I am familiar with the defenses and the attacks

 

Why must we feel so much when it would be better

not to feel at all?

Why must I know so much of you

from the deepest marrow of my bones?

 

I know love too well

for my own good.

Reviews

[Evil_Angel]

You rock...i love the idea about thick skin, and guys ALWAYS having that...not being able to say how they feel but you know it. Really fantastic :)

[Heretic]

"do you know you hold your mouth that way
and that you avoid my eyes
when you lie?"

This was great. The person in this poem is not blinded by love and that is a good thing. She knows love too well and her lover too well. Taking note of a persons mannerisms and personality when they are around you tells you everything you need to know about them. It reveals how they feel about you. It is unfortunate that I can recently relate to this topic. It is even more unfortunate that it was I, who was let go.

Do I know you in real life? Ha ha ha, this poem is almost kind of scary. Well written though and it perfectly captures the emotion you were going for. I'm glad I read this. A beautiful piece of work.

[Adrian K. Smith]

When we begin to believe we know somebody too well, we may lure ourselves into a trap of minor arrogance in that belief. For it is possible that we may begin to see things that simply are not there, reading between the lines that were never written. It is also possible that previous baggage may confuse the situation, seeping into the current thoughts. But this is not supposed to be a psychological review. The piece definitely follows the path of what unfortunately too many feel as love, and tells that tale well. You describe what some might describe as the infancy of love, that has never matured, staying a Toys 'R Us kid. It is sad, how the finality of the work is the somber realization of knowing love too well - without knowing it. Sadly written but well done.

[bluessadmood]

oh its loves game and played well here ,i know you too well i have seen those eyes how they move why and when i know you well,you can not hide anything from me ,every move you do ,every eye is telling lots i want though you want to hide but i know ,i know you well so you can not hide those feelings from me ,and i think its better that way,so no more lies ,no ,you cant tell any more of them ,yes i know you too well for my own good ,that was perfect ,like every one playing the defense attack game one wants to hide the other too clever to be fooled so lets be no more lies and hurt,great ,nice weaving of events in a very nice way

[Dani California]

"I've read this playbook before
and I am familiar with the defenses and the attacks"

I'm not sure that's love. But, I also don't know that I'm qualified to make that
determination. We all feel love in different ways. I completely get this. I've been
in "situations" where I knew my sig other better than he realized. A mere shift in
his stance, and I knew what time it was... if he was lying.... covering... anything.
And that of course, takes the "what you don't know won't hurt you" out of the equation,
making the relationship strained. The thing is, in my opinion, where there is deceit,
defense, attacks.. love does not reside. Obsession, possession, or maybe lust... but
love doesn't house those traits.

You did a great job writing this poem, portraying the conflicting emotions of
what we often believe to be love, and of knowing someone perhaps too much
for our own good. Or maybe it is exactly for our own good... :)

Great job!