Author Information
"The Ruined"
by Jeph Johnson
I left a new lover
on the side of the road
She'd worked harder to bear
your burdensome load
True love cast aside
along the wide interstate
I can't invest in her love
by bankrolling your hate
For her I don't hunger
half as much as for you
For it's fully your fault
I can't continue
Utopian yearnings
of our yesterday worn out
Sunlight sank beyond
the shadows of my doubt
The real reason this isn't
what I'm looking for
Is she deserves my love
a thousand times more
The love I tried to give her
cannot be renewed
I have none left for her
because I gave all to you
Unless the victim's conviction
is resigned and contrite
Love's lost in illusion
and far from finite
I've taken on guilt
and felt fractured shame
I am the victim
yet the victim's to blame
I'd be a much better person
if I wasn't so honest
even love her in return
if your love I was promised
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