Quick and Hard

A toast to all my absent enemies:
I won’t complain, or waver, or pretend
I’m thinking every one of you my friend.
I do know better. All of you can freeze:
The icebox of my heart has cavities
Quite big enough for all of you. We bend,
We shake, we hope for something, in the end,
That makes us happy once again, but please!

Still, you were targeting my bones, my heart,
My standing, so I came out at the bell
To face you, leaving my abandoned shell
Behind me, all my blind love and my art.
I knew what was required here, from the start:
You’ve made me quick and hard, which serves me well.