pretend
and pretend
and pretend
not to need you—
even as I
deplete you—no,
even as I
steal you;
and the way you're
so pleased to show
nothing to me,
even while you
give me much
more than your money—
it's like
each of us desperately
needs to exist
in the very same space,
yet persist
on our own.
I guess that's what
they mean
by a
malignant growth:
this mutual
coherence
which
diminishes us both.
