Right Wife, Wrong Wife Poem by Raj Dronamraju

Perturbed by your exuberance, let down by your coldness
I can't believe you strung a wire from your heart to both of these two extremes
And also that which I escaped from a decade ago has snared me once again in a brand new trap

The same difference, the banshee's tune is only the slightest variation
The frequency remains consistent
Sight and sound tapping at submerged self sustaining
What I did to myself to tie down a nasty response and rob it of its vigor

Terror's spousal co-habitation speaks of its own virtue
The contractual arrangement itself not how it plays out
The needy pick too quickly encumbered by the greedy blinders of the gullible
The needy move too quickly to research their want against what they are actually getting

The child of weakness wore a bonnet
Now the child of weakness wears a cape
The same thin caterwauling distinguishes the dependency of its attachment
I'd call this love an attachment and know it can take many forms

One of these forms almost executed a death sentence upon me
Another one poisoned me with bitterness
Until I couldn't think clearly in the maze
The first exit, the second exit, the third exit - none seem like the right one