Reconsider me.
I may look like a member of the pack
but I am not.
I’m something else again.
I don’t know what I can do
to convince you
that I’m a different sort of beast.
How should I try?

Words are always worth a shot.
I am not the kind of creature
you have met before
over and over
to diminished effect
one of those boys who treats you cold
after stealing your warmth.

I am uncommon.
Rare.
I’m not suggested that I am so superior
but you needn’t be indifferent to me
because you’ve been burned before
by those bad Joes.

I want you to know
that I care
and I do not lie
and I do not cheat.
I will fight for you
but try not to fight you.
I am not what you’ve seen before.

I can’t see
how to convince you of this
– any of it –
without showing
how I’m willing to give you
all the space you need
which is the last thing I want to do.

So maybe I do lie
a little.
Is there a way, then,
that I could lie
with you?