Ravenous Regret

By Dr. Pratik Pravin Bhat

On the beach

That day, that date,

We roamed.

You said you loved me,

I said you didn’t.

You continuously pursued me

Until I gave my all,

Even though I

Just wanted to be friends.

You took our friendship

And called our relationship “ill-defined.”

You were what brought liveliness

Into my life, which was a buzz.

The buzz was better, of course.

Now married, we shared beds.

A business trip you went on,

Very important indeed you made it seem.

Your new personal assistant, a girl, would accompany.

You had never broken my trust,

So there was no reason to think in that direction.

After all, you were a piece of my own reflection.

My phone the next night

Flooded with pictures.

You were on an island in Thailand,

You in your boxers,

She in a red velvet dress.

Other pictures showed

The occurrences inside closed doors

Of your hotel room.

It shattered me to smithereens.

The man I adored,

With his so-called “personal assistant,”

He cheated.

The photos were sent

By the private detective I had hired.

I knew something was suspicious

From the way you said you were going to Europe for a week.

I happened to

Check your Google Location,

I, your wife, have your accounts after all.

In your sleep,

You murmur the truth.

You had taken her name

And the existence of a

Second phone.

The revelation came from there.

I destroyed your house,

From the dim lights to the pillars,

A rock into the fake ceiling,

Acid onto the white marble,

All the dishes out of the window,

And a glass table overturned.

I went into the inner room,

The baby was quiet.

I took it into my arms,

Called mom that I am headed homeward.

I won’t give you a divorce

Without a great fight.

I turn on the phone

And forward the pics of you with your second beloved

To your office mailing system.

Everyone should know

What you have done.

My phone rings now,

Your name on display,

As me and the baby are in the car,

Driving away.

I toss my phone

Onto the street,

Let everything collapse,

Just like my trust

In you.

By Dr. Pratik Pravin Bhat