An empty photo frame sits on my mantelpiece
Its occupant photograph for years was once a symbol of love, merriment, and an exultant beginning;
How it transformed overnight into a rendition of a failed love story, of broken promises, of abandonment, of sadness and of an unthinkable hatred!
Our photograph continued to occupy the mantelpiece even though you were long gone
The smiles continued to inhabit it, as if pasted on two mannequin-like people
Who no longer recognized the other
Whose smokescreen love had departed
One day, I finally had the courage to take the photograph out from the frame
To not trigger repressed memories
To pretend that the lost love never existed to begin with
To bring about a semblance of normalcy;
To allow a withered life to go on
An empty photo frame now sits on my mantelpiece
Its teal border does nothing to hide its vacuum
Each time I stare into its desolation, the memories you left behind slap me in the face
As a constant reminder of our what was supposed to be our permanent inseparableness
An empty photo frame sits on my mantelpiece
Which now serves as an aide-memoire that true love is a hoax.
~Nupur Hukmani
India