The Other Lover

By Samarth Bhatkar

I thought I was the rhythm to your life’s song,

The one that’s permanently burrowed under your skin.

I thought I was the fire burning in your chest,

Your haven that you ran back to when the world grew dim.

But little did I know, there was always someone else,

A mystical shadow lurking at the edge of a perpetual night.

A loud unknown whisper curling in your bluish-green veins,

A hunger that I never mastered the skills to fight.

I was the oath you took, the prayer you prayed in secrecy,

You used me like a spell when you wanted to wash off your sins.

I stitched your scars and drew stars around them all,

But her embrace was an occult sorcery that erased all my wins.

You wake every night, pacing the floor like a ghost,

And I couldn’t watch it happen.

She kissed you faster than I could, a poison dressed as joy,

And you just let it happen.

You needed me –

Yes, I know.

But you needed drugs more.

By Samarth Bhatkar