A poem, not written by me

Let's go over it all again
- James Fenton

Some people are like that.
They split up and then they think:
Hey, maybe we haven't hurt each other to the uttermost.
Let's meet up and have a drink.

Let's go over it all again.
Let's rake over the dirt.
Let me pick that scab of yours.
Does it hurt?

Let's go over what went wrong –
How and why and when.
Let's go over what went wrong
Again and again.

We hurt each other badly once.
We said a lot of nasty stuff.
But lately I've been thinking how
I didn't hurt you enough.

Maybe there's more where that came from,
Something more malign.
Let me damage you again
For the sake of auld lang syne.

Yes, let me see you bleed again
For the sake of auld lang syne.


I love this poem, because it seems to describe pretty accurately some of the relationships-whether they be lovers, friends,family-that I've seen or had break up. I always remember it when ex- wants to meet up again. There's something to be said for completely cutting off contact. Not always possible in New Zealand, thanks to it being such a village, but you can try.