Written by:

Zerayn D.

There were things in life we encounter
that from the first time we see them,
we already sense their grandeur,
how valuable,
how precious,
how marvelous!

We were so excited as they stepped unto our door,
and we reached for them with our hands, with warm welcome.

But as they started acclimating in our abode,
we imposed our rules to impress them with order.
We showed them how organized and structured we were.
We had to play bureaucracy
to prove to them we were not cheap and easy.
We played hard to get,
made things complicated.

Then, we punished them for their little mistakes.
A little drop of water was announced as a spill.
We scolded them for missing a staircase climbing up the balcony.
We wrote notes of things they were not good enough for.
We set bars and benchmarks hard to reach,
as though love must first survive exhaustion
before it deserves a place to stay.

They chose to be prim and proper.
They nodded at everything said.
They never argued their cause;
it fed your ego.
They never complained,
but humbly accepted the spankings,
even though each sting remained.

Then one day, the lights went out for a second.
They decided to leave,
for such a flicker of light,
is such a great discomfort.

They tore down the curtains and draperies;
the wastes, dust, wear, and tear,
dirty corners were exposed.
They let the water overflow on the floor,
as they remembered that one drop
you announced as a spill.

They stopped being quiet.
They spoke up.
They yelled, shouted, and screamed,
until all the noises broke down our rules.

And when chaos was perfectly created,
they left us with a broken heart.

Now tell me,
whose fault is it?