I have a friend who always hates the folks
she loves the most. It’s like she can’t maintain
affection that won’t chafe; it rubs and pokes
her where she’s tender, till it places strain
upon relationships that ought to hold.
Insisting that she’s no one’s enemy,
behind our backs she mocks us warmly, cold,
her friendship formed of desperate mimicry.

And I’m a girl who never loves at first.
The most I feel’s an urge to disagree
or disapprove or focus on the worst
(I have a talent for antipathy).
But give me room to argue – that may shove
hostility to lust, and scorn to love.