I was ecstatic when I finally got your attention
because you seemed hard to please
and I like that in a woman.
When you impress someone like that
you’ve probably earned it.
And after you started to pay attention,
I hoped,
maybe I could get you
to invest in some other things

but I realized something
about the hard to please women:
if you don’t continue to please them
for whatever reason
they may depart
in the night
and never be heard from again.
I’m relieved you weren’t that sort of lass,

and yet the struggle
to maintain your interest
while batting so high above my weight class
(I’m kind of bad at the sporting metaphors)
put a serious strain on my system.
Knowing at any point,
you might be gone,

it made it something of a relief
when you finally did.
I am free from the fear
of waiting for you to find me out,
recognizing how unworthy I am.
I am at last
comfortable with my lot in life

even if it’s
absent of you.