mmmmcmiv

The Frivolous Appeal of the Inaccessible

Some people really work hard
at keeping their distance from
others, be they strangers, mere
acquaintances or so-called friends.

Sometimes this is a bit of an on
going ploy of cat and mouse,
for those who overly appreciate
playing the game of hard to get.

I’ll admit that I, myself, played that
game for years with various folks
back in my youth.  And when,
sometimes after several years,

I’d have one of those mice pract
ically within reach of my youthful
incisors, most often it would dawn
on me only then that I had only

been in it for the game, and on
more than one occasion I’d find my

self shaking my head and turning
a one-eighty to make a quick es

cape, realizing that as far as I was
concerned the game was over.  Now
that I’m considerably older, and I’d
like to think a bit wise with that age,

the appeal of someone who seems
just out of reach for longer than a
mere moment, the urge for a chase,

even while at a standstill, once again

rises inside of me, unable to fade.
But within moments it becomes
clear if that is the primary appeal,
and when that happens I quickly find

myself physically sighing with re

lief over catching myself, already
exhausted by the inclination to
pursue engagement with what

would most certainly in the past
have become a long, if not some
what tantalizing trek toward a
dead end.