Introspection is Over-rated

Cruel and beautiful are the shadows of what might be,
dancing, and preying on our hopes.
I give all of myself away at first, the begin taking back little bits;
it's an indiscernible process, so that when I'm gone in the end, what has really been lost?
It reduces us both in some indefinable way that seems almost negligible.
Then the aggregate sum of reductions begins to take its toll.
Can you see the past in my eyes? Do you see glimpses of the pieces
I've bestowed, then retracted? Do you even feel the loss?
Maybe I do because I'm the one who's diminished.

Exercises in efficient contouring: getting rid of the dross is good
and introspection is highly over-rated.