A THIRD DISTANCE

I keep my friends close and my enemies closer.

A friend in need is a friend indeed - and the
enemy of my enemy is my friend, whether I 
need them or not - and I keep them close, with
the rest of my friends, but not as close as I
keep my enemies, who I keep closer still - unless
by some anomaly of the enemy/friend calculus I am forced
to maintain a third distance from them - perhaps
less close, or even closer yet, or so similar to
the closeness I maintain to my friends and my enemies
that I can't tell who is which one, if any, or neither.

And revenge is a dish best served cold - and the best
revenge is success, which is why I am laying the foundations of
a thousand year empire - to silence my enemies, and also why
I'm not telling anyone about it - 
not yet - not until its longevity is so assured that all heat
has dispersed from it completely, and I am able
to serve the fact of my triumph on a tray of rock ice
to the surprised recipients of my vengeance -
and also to myself, for when seeking revenge
one must dig two graves, with one grave for yourself,
which is still true when your revenge is success,
and also because I would have to be my own worst
enemy to deliberately thwart the satisfaction of
my eternal dominion - and I don't know how far away
to keep that.