Attack

All right. You're weary and you've had enough,
And I should quit this valueless attack
Upon your nerves and virtue. Things look black,
So when the going gets a little rough
You slip away. I understand: a bluff,
You seem to think. However, the great knack
In calling bluffs is aces, not a stack
Of self-help books. The aces make you tough.

Here, aces are good questions about needs,
Desires, and plans for six or seven days,
For all the books a quiet woman reads
Will not explain what set my heart ablaze
Or tell her how this dark despair just feeds
That fire. Ask questions; war is not a phase.

Our Hearts, part 13