Pursued

When I pursued women

I thought I was doing them well

Because in the images within me

Of her and me together

She was also smiling and laughing

I didn't realize that these my images

Were mine alone

Not hers, not ours

The illusion my own

My drive, my desire, impetuous servants

Pushed me to push her in

To share that image with me

To impose it upon her

Whether clothed in soft words

Or in joyful gifts

If my drive was my thirst only

What I presented was a lie

For I never admitted that greed

I see now how this dynamic

Ignored the boundaries of her self

Trespassed them, untempered

When I did not listen to whom she was

When I did not see her as

Anything beyond my own aim