Different Needs

Her heart met his mind as she quested for bliss.
He tendered a handshake when she hoped for a kiss.
Appropriateness was his reason, which to her felt remiss.
He suggested mediation; she struggled to breathe.

He examined needs while she grieved wants.
He drew up contracts when she developed bonds.
He appraised the situation and she endured naught.
It worked well for him; she was distraught.

“Must you always think,” she asked. “Why can’t you feel?
Is there a heart in there, or a block of steal?
What’s under that mask? How do I know what’s real?”
She wanted a relationship, not a business deal.

He likes say, she prefers do.
He knows tried, she lives true.
He offered to work for her.
She said, “I’ll hurt for you.”

He deliberates plans; she mourns dreams.
He doesn’t understand what she perceives.
She wants to love and he has to succeed,
It’s a dilemma of different needs.

Sandy Knauer
ã 2004