Sometimes the Best Argument Isn't Reductio ad Absurdum
by K.H. Ivywater
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement was intended in the writing of this poem and no profit is being made. Severus Snape and Harry Potter are property of J.K. Rowling.
Notes: Questions and comments and feedback are most welcome, and please let me know if you rec.
Dates: This poem was begun on December 18, 2007, and completed on January 19, 2008.
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"But you love me, sir," he says,
And I scream,
And I wonder,
Quite helplessly,
At how good things can seem
Before being inverted
By a boy of sixteen.
And then I stop—
catch my breath
—Before roaring some more
That he's got it all wrong
If he thinks it's him I adore.
And I cry,
"Love you?
You must simply be mad
To be so presumptuous
With a notion so sad.
And you are quite mistaken
If you think me in hand.
But--we'll take your fool's premise
And see if it stands.
"Oh yes, I love you! Yes, I do!
—Now, were these claims remotely true,
I'd want to kiss those lips of yours,
Yet, truly, I'd prefer them blue.
(Or bruised)—No, wait!
That wasn't right!
And I can't believe you think I might
Love you—ha!
Don't make me laugh!
You really, truly must be daft.
For if I loved you,
You would see
A rather different side of me."
And so I rant,
And I rave,
And I go on and on,
With these miscalculations
And slips of the tongue.
And then I weep
(Inwardly)
At such chaos's cost,
For I knew from the first
That I'd already lost.
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