The Old Game

I can no longer play the old game of love.

I can no longer pretend that the theatrical and conventional ways of love are real.

I can’t fake being swept away, when I’ve already seen too clearly how the sweeping is done.

There’s a sense of emptiness in seeing through the game of love & loss that everyone else is still playing.

It’s like being the only adult at a children’s party. The children are having a wonderful time; they’re completely absorbed in their game.

But I can’t join them. Not because I don’t want to, but because I can’t make myself believe the game of love is real anymore.