Cold, empty, winter days In a house bought for two She silently, patiently waits Marking time with her pain
Immaculate in his absence She makes a home for one Whilst a smiling bride and groom Watch her pitifully from the wall
In pursuit of a life-long Antarctic dream; Summers with scientists beside icebergs He pleadingly requests her blessing Whilst sliding her easily into the cold
A trick question, a trip-wire, a trap She ponders a choice; without choice With only one true sacrifice; hers As he already turns his back to leave
Alone; her love as solid as concrete A pillar of support in the face of onlookers Her conversation only justification On behalf of the man who abandoned her
She sits warming herself in cosy denial Day-dreaming of their postponed future Plans for two, masterminded by one The balance of equality toppling slowly
Pushing her forgotten needs into wasteland She is deliberate in not noticing The sorrowful elephant in the corner That is her now part-time marriage
Two years, two months and two days; The time it takes for her to acknowledge The ocean of misery in which she now swims Finally welcoming the current that takes her under
Unknowingly entering last chance saloon He returns to her, his only gifts; Carefully-wrapped indifference And a magnum of bitter tastes
Summer spent in a warmer climate Sees only uncomfortable, record lows Three months of desperate floundering In a relationship now dead in icy waters
Beaten; she packs her smallest belongings Taking lightweight treasures of a decade; Symbols of a future once promised Now reneged, swiftly and clinically
She drives a hired vehicle alone; Her life neatly boxed inside To a strange city and a fresh start As a number; devoid of history
Leaving behind furniture lovingly restored Whilst a nameless, faceless other, calmly places Her toothbrush and perfume in a cupboard Stained only days before by teak oil and a wife’s tears
Promises to collect the last of her things Are deemed unnecessary by his generosity; Giving away to others the last evidence of her Erasing her in seconds, no trace to remain
She scours unknown streets in need of a home In reality, wanting only a warm bed In which she can sleep, hoping never to awake Having given her last; no more to spend
Bags unpacked; she stands in tourist central Excited sightseers of the world unite To marvel at the history and vibrancy Invisible amongst them; she quietly dies inside
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