Squatting out there in front of us waiting smug and silent
Fate has a thing or two to do to you and me before we’re finished...
Waiting to rub our noses in it and tell us that we were forewarned
not to rely too much on promises made in better times.

How do we learn to stop short of full commitment,
or at least to hesitate and look around
before turning up our faces like happy puppies
shamelessly expecting to be gratified
because we had assumed our existence
means to others as much as it does to us.


In spite of everything there is hope for us.
In relationship we find out who we are
and what it means that we were born.