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On Closer Look

I wrote this a long time ago. I feel I've grown since writing it. If you can determine the five-syllable word that belongs at the end of the poem, you'll know what I was facing at the time. I know it's uncool to let others see your weaknesses, but we all have them. For me, one of them is expressed in this poem.

On governed introspection’s gaze
By winding through that zigzag maze
I saw my past, both guilt and glee
And I know why you ran from me.

My heart, though closed to outside threat,
Still yearns to pay some endless debt
It hurts to feel and hurts to see
But I know why you ran from me.

This inner fight takes all my steel
‘tween minds that think and hearts that feel
These circled paths can’t make men free
So I know why you ran from me

Hushed turmoil builds, still buried deep
Both makes men seem and feel asleep
It leaves no room for reverie
Still I know why you ran from me

The unfurled flags grow redder still
While planted on this war-torn hill
Now I know why you ran from me
For you saw...
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