10.Winners and Losers.
"The battle is won before it's fought,"
My Father told me-
He an avid follower of
History-
"And what exactly does that mean?"
I asked back then,
Aged 16
& chasing a girl
Who I desperately wished
Would fall in love with me.
"Be prepared," My Father said,
"Be ready."
So taking his advice
(With my hair, my clothes, what to say),
Sure enough
The girl, that night, was very nice
But, nevertheless
She left the dance
With Paul John Eddy,
My best friend back then
who,after all these years,
I still see now and again
(Recently though he went bankrupt
&, by his own admission,
Married a 'slut').
The girl herself?
The girl I thought I truly loved?
Her Facebook status says, "single"
& she must be,what,
44?
I wish I could say to my dad
(Who died of a stroke last year),
"It's not, after all, about the battle.
It's all about the war."
