[Author’s Note: This is my story, but it is also ours. All of us. Despite what we may think, none of us are immune. Perhaps by talking about it we can wake up and approach our choices without shame.]

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice—

We all know how it ends.
Am I a fool, then, for considering a second chance?

Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice—

You did this. Am I the fool, then?

No—I could drive all blames into one a hundred times,
and the fault would still lie with you.

Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice—

I promised—I swore—to myself and you
that there would never be a second time.
And yet, still your smile beguiles me,
and I feel my resolve weaken.
Am I the fool, then, for listening to my heart
only now when she lies in shreds?

No—the fool is blind, but I see the choice before me.
She is deaf, but I demanded the truth—
laid out beneath harsh fluorescent lights.
I will dissect our reality,
bone by bone, ligament by ligament,
until the scalpel reveals what I need to know.

Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice—

I do not hate you, though I had rather hoped I might.
It is true what they say, after all:
You don’t know how you’ll react until you’re there.
Here I am, and I still don’t know.
Am I a fool, then, for hesitating?

No—for I am love, and love is wise.
Whatever choice I make,
know that I will make it in love—
for me and you both.

Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice—

The refrain runs through my head;
we all know how it ends.
But I refuse to be ashamed.

This story is mine; only I decide how it ends—
I am not the fool.

Fool me once, shame on you;

Fool me twice, though, and I promise:
You will not see me again.

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Relephant Read:

This is what Betrayal Feels Like.

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Author: Toby Israel

Photo: Flickr/Zac Cannon

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