"...the impossible equation"

I think in this imperfect world

I would like either/or

Because experience and observation

Say that both are impossible together

Romance

And trust

Can ruin one another

And one must decide which is more

...worthwhile

Trust can

Make the romance

Seem immature

Or break down the idyllic image

Leaving you with more connection

And less of the fantastic

Romance, then

Is only alive

When it lives on the edge

At the corners of danger and mystery

(With not much thought beyond happily-ever-after)

And of course Sondheim

Was the first to introduce to

This enlightenment

(that some would call cynicism)

In the second act of Into the Woods

When it all falls apart

But even then

The romance is that

They find a way

To keep on

To move on

As if there is a hole

In the soul's great pocket

But there is no hole.

The story is the rocks we've picked up

And the rocks we carry

The weight of those

Is the weariness of age

And how we move under that weight—

The test of wisdom

I do not pretend to know of happy endings

So this is hardly scientific

But from what I've seen

It is a quite elusive system

Which leads to balance

Romance or trust

I'd have either

Have found neither

Don't want any

Except, of course,

Don't we all...

(the cynic troll goes galumphing about

in trousers too tight and shoes that stick out

he never does smile and never does say

"hello" to a friend, but simply "good day")