No Contest

Months of broken peace
you couldn't call a war
or a relationship
Too brief for that
Guerilla fighting anyway
and raids by terrorists
but the truces
were something else again
The firefights were brief
and then a run for cover
as she withdrew
in orderly grace
and I scrabbled
up the nearest hill
A final armistace agreed
and prisoners exchanged

But she'd made captive
all my front line troops
while I only briefly held
her passing interest
No matter, it was done
in neutral territory
as my pride and pain
staggered home
and her fascination
crossed too easily
into the waiting arms
of someone else
I'd have to say the casualties
were mostly mine
and I'll admit it was
no contest from the start