WHAT IF

it depends!

WHAT IF

 

What if I were to discover my love with another woman

Face to face in a brightly lit café?

Should I dispute with him straight out?

Or hide in my own shadow?

 

My gut would wrench

My heart would thump at a rabbit’s pace

In all probability, I would faint

My life tangled in a web, shivers with fear and disgust

The angry sea would beat the rocks

Rivers flow their banks

Dark clouds divide and force

Rain pellets to sting my face

crows would fly to warn of imperilment in the future

 

Alone in my tangled web

After my fainting spell

I crunch up into a ball on my bed

And shed my sobs until

My pillow is soaked with misery

As I recover, my moist sheets are memories of a wretched dream

 

 

 

 

Author's Note

Thank you for reading

Reviews

[Robert Haigh]

A painful read for me, in some ways. This has indeed happened to many people, and I have been in a very similar situation. My first wife suddenly said she didn't love me anymore, and that she was seeing someone else! Even though we were having some problems, it came as a shock! An unpleasant divorce ensued, and we moved on, but those were the lowest times of my life. There IS life after divorce, and we do heal. I know this poem deals with a hypothetical situation, but that situation can suddenly hit some of us in the face! I hope this is never more than "a wretched dream" for you, Betty!

[Betty Hermelee]

Thank Robert for a thoughtful review! Hope it doesn’t happen to me either!
Best, B.

[John the Baptist]

Yes, I can see how such a realization might monkey wrench several levels of longstanding arrangements and set patterns. Either counselors or lawyers or both might have to be brought into the picture. On the other hand, you could search for another cafe.

[Betty Hermelee]

Thank always John, but this cafe was by chance only!
Best
B.