Et tu, Brute?

Sticks and stones are hard on bones.
Aimed with angry art,
Words can sting like anything,
But silence breaks the heart.
~Phyllis McGinley, Pulitzer Prize-winning American author of children’s books and poetry

You

Fooled me.

Or maybe

I fooled myself.

Earnestly craving

A peaceful atmosphere,

I acquiesced to many

Of your suggestions, traded dreams,

And hoped we’d never experience

Long, lonely years of silence between us.

***

But something happened — what, I’m just not sure —

And here we are, stuck in this cold war.

No talking. No contact. Nothing,

When I’d hoped for so much more.

It hurts to realize

You’ve hardened your heart

And just don’t care

Anymore.

Okay,

Fine.

 

Note: Poetry form is Double Etheree. “Et tu, Brute” were Caesar’s dying words in Shakespear’s play Julius Caesar to his friend Brutus, who sided with a clique to assassinate the ruler.