He is a charmer
Always impeccably
dressed
An air of
mystery about him
Young boys
dream of becoming him
She was
caught hook line and sinker
In his unfailing
charm
Their
wedding was a dream
Stuff of
legend
Marriage
was another story all-together
Everyone
overlooked
As he made bad
business decisions
Took to alcohol
and gambling
Daily beatings
followed
Made life a
living hell for her
She tried
to walk away
But they
sent her back
He is your
family now
Give him a
child
And change
he will
She bore
him one
A son sewn
in his cloth
He only got
worse
Till one
day, he ended his life
Could no
longer handle
His bad
decisions
Mounting
debts
And the
threats of lenders
Leaving her
To pick up
the broken pieces
Of his failures
Her family
Still only
remembers
How charming
he was.
He was born
to greatness
Far he will
go
In furthering
the family name
He grew up
believing
Special he
was
A business
he inherited
Like he
deserved it
Not having
earned it
She grew up
in a village
Under the
watchful eyes
Of her
father and brothers
Their
families
Brought
them together
With love
and expectations
Work is all
he did
Running a
successful business
For 50 years
From dawn
until dusk
Three lovely
children
She bore
him
And that
was that
Her place
in his life
In the dusk
of his life
A living
hell she experienced
As he
demanded care
For a
deteriorating body
With guilty
relief she sighed
On his
passing
No more
abuses
In the twilight
of her life
‘Maybe, I
can live a little now’
Only to
realize
She does
not know
How to live
For herself
Anymore.
As a young
boy
He saw men
around him
Treated like
gods
And so, he
believed
About
himself
They
married her to him
For a decent
man he was
A
breadwinner, a mother
A confidante
and a dutiful wife
She was
meant to be
Forty years
hence too
He failed as
a husband and father
Unavailable
as he was
Physically and
emotionally
He hid his
own failures
In the
power he had over her
Controlling
her desires and aspirations
With disdain
and jealousy
In silent
micro-aggressions
That kept his
decent façade intact
It has been
years since
He
contributed anything financially
To run a
family of seven
Yet, an
inflated sense
Of his own contribution
he carries
Never a
broom
He has ever
lifted
Or a soap
to do the dishes
Like two
strangers
They lead
their lives
Yet,
She can’t
admit to herself
She is possibly
better off
Without him
For, who is
she
Without his
family name
Slowly and
steadily
Her
identity eroded
In service
of her man
Not a word
of criticism
She can
take against him
For a God
he is
As her
mother taught her
And Gods don’t
have flaws
Even as
they make her life
A living hell.
He is a
school dropout
From an illustrious
business family
Carrying the
family name forward
She is a double
graduate
From a family
barely surviving
It’s her
angelic looks that win him over
Within days
in the marriage
She knows
her place
Kitchen it
will be
For the
rest of her life
It has
become her place to be
In silence
In service
of him and his family
The abuses
started
Soon after
the honeymoon
And have
continued hence
The more he
failed
The more
violent he became
Society
understood
Empathized even
Isn’t he trying?
They looked
the other way
When she
woke up with bruises
Yet another
morning
Lied that
she fell off the bed
His
reputation intact
For he was,
after all
The darling
of his and her family
For over
three decades
She has
stood by him
In his
multiple failed businesses
Troubles with
the law
Mistresses et
al
Depression
and Illness too
With grace
and silence
Or is it
fear
She stands
by him
Even as he blames
her
For his
failures and misfortunes
Their kids couldn’t
wait
To get out
a minute too long
As they
found escape routes
From an
abusive father
They made
their own choices
Hoping their
lives would be better
Forgetting
that they carry
The demons
of their dad
In their
own relationships
Men of all hues
The charmers
The businessmen
The decent
ones
And the one
with lineage
So much we
get away with.
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