Tandem

This is what happens when desires turn to obsessions-

They tear a man down and expose his weaknesses for the world to see.

And rather than face them, reconcile them, live in harmony with them,

He carries them on his shoulders,

And tries to wear them like a mantle, a badge of honour, a battle-earnt trophy.

…

Instead, he bears them as a load too heavy, too long, and cutting much deeper than flesh.

It devours, it consumes, and it hurts. It blinds, it deceives, it demeans him and those close to him.

It hardens, it makes a man a boy, a grumpy child, an emotionally reclusive hermit.

He is not the man his people love, he is not the beacon of his community,

He is a martyr only for himself, a wounded man, a cautionary tale of love neither won nor lost

…

It is a beautiful thing to fall in love, and a painful thing to lose one’s love.

It is a wonderful thing to love again, but tragedy to love in tandem

A heart broken and scattered cannot be repaired when the halves are lost-

Commercialised, owned, locked away.

And a choice is made; to reopen others wounds and reach for each piece,

…

Or despair, reconciled to fantasy’s, committing moral flagellation, in the name of persons unaware

Fetishizing ones grief, and believing oneself righteous for controlling their desires,

To save others heartache, live in ones regrets, and bear that mantle in perpetuity,

To suffer love in tandem, and suffer alone.

…