How’s Your Heart, Having Broken Mine?

I wanted to burn those poems about you,
But even fire hesitates,
Dampened by tears that stream from my eyes—
Eyes that once revered your beauty.

My hands shiver,
The same hands that once cradled you close.

It’s raining romantically now,
Yet I dance alone,
Each drop a reminder of our shared dreams,
Scattered like autumn leaves in the wind.

The rain in my world, once sunny and bright,
Now mirrors the storm within.
You took with you the warmth of our love,
Leaving a chill that seeps into my bones.

You left me without our umbrella,
The one that sheltered our whispered secrets,
Making rain shy and clouds blush.
Now the rainbow’s colors fade to gray,
As memories of us wash away.

I am in love with death,
Once loved you.
I am life;
Even death, which was you,
Couldn’t extinguish me.

But I am heartless,
A body without a soul,
As you took it
And forgot to return,
Just like you forgot to love.

Heart is for breaking,
Soul is for enduring pain.
Death isn’t painful
When you didn’t care.

Life was careless
Once you cared less for me.
Thanks for the lesson,
Showing me what love is.
Thanks for teaching me to hate,
But I skipped those lessons.
They were futile,
As I couldn’t hate you,
Even if taught by you.

Break me a million times,
I won’t shatter.
I loved you endlessly,
But I can’t trust,
As I’m accustomed to flames
That once tried to consume me,
But forgot to check if I turned to ash or not,
Just like you forgot to love.

You forgot you had shattered yourself, not me,
You forgot I wasn’t him,
You forgot that I loved you.
That’s why I let you go.

Oh, I forgive,
I’m not you,
For faking it,
Just to be naked
After burning the cloth of lies.

I said the day you left,
“I was deeply in love even as you departed,
And I remain in love.”
Yes, I was;
Yes, I am.

The day you bid goodbye,
You replied,
“I was deeply in love even as I left,
That’s why I left, for your sake.”

Oh dear,
You would perceive a wholly different tale
Through my eyes.

She says,
“You are the reason my pen spills ink.”
Same for me, dear.
Initially, it penned love
Given by you.
Now it bleeds the broken love
Given by you.
No longer do I bleed with ink,
But tears still cascade at every brink.

Oh, I forgive you,
For heartbreak is the toll
Of a heart that dared to love.

Oh, forgive me,
For the true love
That you let go.

• Achu B