Anti-Love Poem

Sometimes you don’t want to love the person you love

you turn your face away from that face

whose eyes lips might make you give up anger

forget insult   steal sadness of not wanting

to love   turn away then turn away   at breakfast

in the evening   don’t lift your eyes from the paper

to see that face in all its seriousness   a

sweetness of concentration   he holds his book

in his hand   the hard-knuckled winter wood-

scarred fingers   turn away   that’s all you can

do   old as you are to save yourself   from love