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             The 
              Long Love  
            LL 
              DeMerle 
             
            I said 
              I'd love you, always 
              Reluctantly, I find I do 
              I could summon hateful 
              justification and 
              command it 
              to accompany me 
              I could nurture bitterness 
              keep it strong to close the 
              door on us, forcing it 
              swollen with history 
              into the jam and 
              bolting it 
              against the face 
              of a long, long, love. 
            
            The 
              2River View, 1_3 (Spring 1997) 
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