Alone Poem by John Yaws

I've been called a cynic, and maybe that is true.
If so, at least a little of the blame belongs to you.
I've been called hard hearted. I wasn't always so.
But that's a fact, my darling, that you most surely know.

I guess that we could blame it, on being young and dumb-
But love is not a game we play, down where I come from.
Courtship leads to marriage, to last throughout your life,
A "to the death" companion, husband or a wife.

I was just a conquest, a name upon your list-
A fool who trusted promises, enchanted by your kiss.
But all too soon, my folly, was evident to me-
I realized that others, could just as plainly see…

A simple country bumpkin, charmed by fairy tales;
And shocked and unbelieving, by romance as it fails.
But he is gone forever, life's lessons have I learned…
And trust, and love, and joy, have from my heart been burned.

As I continue down life's path, a man no longer young-
I'll soon return unto the sod, from which my forbears sprung.
A bitter lesson I was taught, if only I had known-
It's best to put away the dreams, and live and die…Alone.