Defeat

How effortlessly you topple me
from the smug crest of my
carefully gathered equilibrium,
carved patiently over endless time.
A swish of verbal weapons
rush past, the backlash creating
a rustle in the air around my calm,
and my tranquility crumbles
in a heap of agitated fragments
to be put together once again
bit by tiring bit.

You have won the war.

(c)Anita V. July 2005