my absence
keep my absence between your bedsheets- when your wife turns her back to sleep, tell her about how it starts yellow at first, but leaves only ashes too hollow to weep; keep my absence in empty teacups- when she finds your life fucked up, tell her about the abuse i had done to convert your temples into lockups; keep my absence in the dowry chest- so when she asks what comes next, tell her about the drop in temperature when the storm overtakes your reflex; keep my absence in the open window- and lord, she flutters the curtain, tell her about my eyes already watching to absorb your lethal hammer blows; keep my absence in the mantelpiece clock- every second she waits up late, tell her about the wreckage you create, she is the one who stands by the gate; just never tell her that inside, you keep my absence for your own pulses. - chetna ๐ป