By: Aneri Upadhyay

“a lover’s loneliness”

Your soul lives in all that is life.
Every raindrop, every snowflake
is a personification of you.
I look outside,
only to see the cul-de-sac where
we learned how to ride our bikes.
I turn on the radio,
only to hear our song.
I wear my favorite necklace,
only to remember when you gave it to me.
You’ve ruined me.
Everything that once gave me joy
is now tainted with your smile.
A symphony of destruction
lives between my ribs and my lungs;
one last reminder of you.

###

” that day “

At breakfast,
I woke up next to you
and went to the kitchen to
bring you pancakes in bed,
kissing your forehead
when you reminded me of your love.

At lunch,
I held your hand as we walked in the town park
and smiled at the squirrels admiring
the bright day,
grateful that you
were in my life.

At dinner,
I complimented your cooking
and opened the wine that we drank
at our wedding,
excited to experience that day
all over again with you.

At dessert,
I came out of the bathroom only to find you gone.