I sat across her
By the same window-side table
In the same cafe
Eating the same chipotle
And sipping the same Irish
Nothing has changed in all these years.
It is the same face,
Almost familiar smile
And the same body
Just the heart is a little tempered
Mind sharper
And soul lost.
It wasn’t lost in a day, I know
‘Cause I too lost you in bits and pieces
Turn by turn
First when you started lying
And then when you adopted betrayal as a hobby
Also when you painted my trust with dishonesty
Until my walls came down crumbling
To ashes that still burn my fingers
As I hopelessly dig for traces of you —
For anything that is left, just in case…
When did togetherness turn into a competition?
And why has the concern in your voice
Lost its way to inquiry?
And then you started liking plastic better
So here I am
Sitting across you.
Returning your high fives
And pretending to be with you
While you complain equivocally about
People you know and don’t
And pile lies over lies
Badmouthing the same people
You send good-wishes cards to
Ah!
Here you are presenting your art
And I can’t help admiring your guts
While I lose against your falsehood
To find the little girl
You lost at the crossroads of a dilemma
When you picked dishonesty
And moved away and head
O! Much ahead
Trading your spine and soul!
Moulika Danak is an advertising professional who writes for a living and reads to escape the same.
Featured image: Manny Becerra / Unsplash