If I could
still retreat
Even then I'd stay
And sound a last post
To
signal
That I still salute the cause
Though it might be far too
late
For victory
Remind me of my own mortality
I'll find
some comfort there
If nowhere else
Impermanence
is still a virtue
When things get too permanent
But I'm not
interested
In anything past yesterday
And I'm on my knees
At
this last
And most final
Defeat