Past Salvage (Poetry)

I have the scars to prove it
the wounds are cruel and deep
love wields a brutal cutlass
that slices through my sleep

I do not relish battle
take pains avoiding war
your cunning ambush caught me
a trick that’s worked before

I’ve bled like any soldier
who’s suffered in that fray
life’s loss of simple pleasures
too high a price to pay

I’m counted a survivor
they think I’ve healed a treat
this stubborn old crusader
romantic in defeat

But hearts wear thin and fragile
while the spirit yearns to mend
what’s broken is past salvage
goes on aching till the end