HISTORY LESSON

You wouldn’t let me compare us
To the great lovers of the past. You said
That kind of thinking was mistaken: in history
Feelings and motives were alien to us,
Parallels and messages imaginary.

When we split up, I realised how little
We’d ever really had in common. Your words
Were open to misinterpretation
As the rorschach blots of long-ago events.
I keep your letters and photos, even though
Such hieroglyphs can never be deciphered.

© D. Whippman

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