Better Not

Life
would perhaps
be easier
if I had
never met you

Less sadness
each time
when we must part
less fear
of the next parting
and the next after that

And not so much either
of this powerless longing
when you're not there

which wants only the impossible
and that right away
next minute
and then
when that can't be
is hurt
and finds breathing difficult

Life
would perhaps be
simpler
If I hadn't met you
Only it wouldn't be
my life

-Erich Fried (1921-88)
Austrian poet