To Balance The Pleasure Of Loneliness Poem by Ravi Kopra

to balance
the pleasure of loneliness
against the pain
of loving you

-Nikki Giovanni

***

If the balance does not
tip in my favour
I will not want your love

Why should I barter pleasure for pain?

But wait
there is a problem -

The pleasure of my loneliness
is not what is
when you are loving me

I take the pain with pleasure
to be with you now

Still, I want
no painful love
and may soon re-balance it

Ah, were human cleistogamous
what would have become of love!