"Balance" from Patrick Loudon

In excess she savored much;

Learned deeply, treasured little.

Brave indiscretion awaited:

Solace spare in afterthought.

Anger sought wage without peace.

Envy, at last on trial,

Cried for understanding;

Hatred over years unfettered

Demands of retribution,

Trolling remorse

For lessons confused

Not unlike love?

Fires once greedily aflame

Find repose in dying embers;

Flurries of madness beg forgiveness,

Still tossing the pockets

Of blithe sincerity,

Beneath filmy eyes and justice blind?

So, each lie owes its debt to truth,

From lips, pen, or shot from the eye?

Rivers swollen in desperate flood,

Cast away all treasure in her throes?

Meandering, she seeks old banks,

The unhurried waters,

The pillow soft sands,

And at last in the darkness

Wends her way home.

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Patrick Loudon, originally from Florida, is proudly affiliated with Mayland Community College.