You know
that moment
right after
the break-up
When you’re
full of love
but have
lost the one you could pour it on
Your heart
is heavy
you wonder
how we got here
You miss,
not the person
but how you
felt
Yearning,
to feel it once again
you look at
the phone directory
Someone.
Anyone…
Who may be
able to understand
what’s
going on in your heaving heart
lest it
bursts out of your chest
He sits solemnly alone
in a room
this book has occupied
his evenings for several days
engrossed, he instinctively
reaches for his phone,
checks for messages.
Nothing
He returns to the book
A quiet moment has
gripped the room
Like the one right
before the rain
Like something is
about to happen
A ring. A name. A
face. Memories.
He smiles before
accepting, savoring the moment
He says hello, anxiety
speaks from the other side
He knows some terrible
ill has befallen
and she needs to be
heard
Her heart
is heavy with emotion and words are difficult to find
She made
the call but cannot tell him of the dreams that haunt her
Instead,
she tells him about her day
How she
spends time watching a lot of videos
And is
unable to wake up to face the next day
How she’s
gained a few pounds recently
And how
she’s determined to lose it again
And
suddenly she apologizes
For now she
understands how he had felt once
She
understands now, his love for her
She doesn’t
want him back, as he is still the same guy
She knows
he won’t take her back, as she is a changed woman
He realizes her
heartbreak, but chooses not to mention
instead he sticks to
listening
it’s been long since
someone has heard her
and longer since he’s
had the sweet ring of her voice
Life seems to have
humbled her
and she sounds like
the girl he was once in love with
She needs to be told
all is well with the world
and she is safe as
long as he’s there
But he’s lost the
right to say that long ago
If only he could hold
her once again
She would know she
never left his thoughts
And find home in the
comfort of his arms
He finds it
easy to forgive her
She
realizes he has moved on with life
That’s what
people do, they move on
Time heals
everything, but does not spare the pain
She will
heal too someday, she knows
But not
today, today she wishes there was no time ahead at all
Today she
wishes for just a moment, a moment with someone
Someone to
tell her that her world has not broken apart
And that’s
what she sought from this call
Her mood
has lightened, her heart has not
she will
find the pillow wet in the morning again
for he
might have forgiven her
she’ll take
far longer to forgive herself
A song appears in his
head out of nowhere
a song he thought he
has long forgotten
something they had
shared long ago
something he hadn’t
touched since her departure
he couldn’t place it
at once
but like a strong sea
current rushing to make love to the ocean
it quickly took shape
Vishal Gupta
9 January 2020
