There is nothing worse
Then the breakup of a marriage
When a life splits into two
The effects of it are so devastating
That they are unreal

Everyone knew
That it was bound to happen sooner or later
But when the guy took his hand and said that it was over
The lady was in such a panic it took her out of her mind

She saw the other woman
The delicate cocktail waitress from the tavern he worked by
With her curly red hair and doll’s eyes
It was no surprise when she claimed him
Like a master claims a slave
As she took a glimpse of the young girl
Her heart was zapped by lightning
And the fear struck into her eyes

Day by day, night by night
She worked in the shadows,
Looking for the day when she would have her vengeance
And, in time, she had it

Twenty years after the divorce
He walked to her door,
Asking for his wife’s forgiveness
And something more

The guy’s ex wife
Still beautiful and graceful and full of wit
Allowed him inside with a smile
That waitress may have known how to catch a guy
But she had an everlasting spell

She asked what was he doing in town, at this hour of all times
He replied that he wanted her back
That he realized that it was a mistake to leave her
That he knew he missed out on a lot
That he missed her
And their children

She commented that he was a poor thing
That it was wrong that the hussy left him
But she also commented that he had it coming to him
That what goes around, comes around.
He stopped her, saying that the waitress didn’t leave him
That she loved him with all his heart
But that she disappeared years ago
And he didn’t know whether she was alive or dead
But, he commented, that it was probably the ladder

She gave him a small sympathetic smile
And said that it was alright
That the girl just probably ran out on him
That she was alright, except for the lone fact that she has regrets.
He smiled back, saying to forget about her
Just for tonight, he said
That he wanted it to be just like old times
That he wanted it to be before that affair

She smiles, with that smile that could cool the flames of hell down
And give the tortured souls at least an hour of relief
And tells him to come up with her
Into the kitchen
Because she was going to prepare a special supper
And she wanted his critique

He followed her, the guilty one, with a walk as innocent as a lamb
Something in his gut, however, was telling him to back off
He knew his wife was as quick-witted as a fox, and as vengeful as the code of Hammurabi
And if she wants revenge, as equally fitting as the years of grief he put her though
He knew that she was going to serve it to him tonight
The whole thought of him being served with the grief gave him a cold air that struck to his bones
And as the night progressed, it didn’t go away
Instead, it escalated to a life-or-death terror
And the ex-wife eventually caught on to the paranoia

The ex-wife said not to worry
That she wasn’t after revenge
Instead, she wanted her marriage back
She wanted it to be back to old times, she said

He smiled, relieved that she felt what he was feeling
And, as she sat him down to dinner
It felt just like old times

He smiled, in the calm and eerie presence of his ex-wife
She smiled back, knowing that she finally had him
She smiled, commenting on their memories as high schoolers
She asked him if he remembered the time when she blindfolded him and made him taste all his cooking
He laughed, saying, yeah, he did remember that

Her eyes widened to a terrifying grin
And she suggested, that, for the dinner she was currently cooking
That he would try it blindfolded
And then comment what he thought it was
He smiled, as blind as a bat
And apparently that was because of the blindfold he was wearing

She presented the bowl to him
And the stench that fell upon it was so horrible it almost made him faint
But the illusion that his ex-wife wanted him back
Was so intense that he forgot about the smell altogether
And he asked for a spoon

The wife provided him with a spoon
And, knowing that he will have trouble putting it to his mouth,
Offered to serve him
He took the offer with a smile
And as he put the spoon of mystery to his mouth
His whole world turned upside down

The taste was terrible, like the taste of iron
Flesh, with blood pouring out, it seemed
With a quick taste, it could fill you from it altogether
But, it also gave you an empty feeling inside, as if something in you died
He wanted to pull off the blindfold to see what it was immediately,
But the calm grasp of his ex-wife’s arm reassured him to keep eating

He commented that her cooking has gotten more interesting over the years
She smiled, knowing that he was expecting something good
He stayed there for an hour in real time, forever in his gut,
Trying to figure out exactly what he was eating

He finally said he was done,
And tried to leave the house with his blindfold on
But the wife immediately stopped him and put him to his seat
And told him to try to remember
That he tasted it before,
He just needed memory

He continued eating for his former lover
But, he doubted he had any kind of food like this
And, soon, not long after, he started having stomach cramps
So immense that they tore to the soul
And, as he implored his ex-wife to not make him eat more
She did what he begged her not to

Finally it came to a point
Where the man finally got up for a bathroom break,
But fainted, out of breath, and head throbbing
And there, he contemplated,
What that mystery meat was

He thought of what she said
That he had eaten it before,
He just needed something to refresh his memory
Something he’s eaten before….
Something he’s eaten before…

In all of this mind wandering,
Of him trying to find the answer,
A memory of the waitress popped in his mind
Oh, how gorgeous she was
She took his heart from the first gaze she gave him
Oh, and those many nights
Where he would devour over her body—

Wait, he thought
Could it be, that he was eating—
No, he reasoned, that it couldn’t be
It simply couldn’t be
His ex-wife was too lovely,
And way, way to sweet and delicate
To even think of that sort of horror!
It wasn’t possible that he was eating…

Her….

…The ex-wife was sitting there,
And asked him, for the final time,
What was the mystery meat
He opened his mouth,
And said that he’d rather not say
But, as he felt his wife staring at him, like the little worm that he was
He uttered that he was eating the waitress
And, for a while, there was

A LIFELONG, SILENCE…..

She finally said bingo, he guessed right
And removed the blindfold from his head
And what he saw
Was unspeakable to any average person

The waitress ,her eyes closed,
Her body withered from the years,
And having it’s rotten smell from there
Her beautiful blue eyes,
Now glasslike and glazed over
Her beautiful big red curly locked
Now wild and disheveled
He found her!
He finally found her
The love of his life
The girl of his dreams….

As he kneeled closer to the corpse
That once held the soul of that beauty
He finally knew what part of her he was eating
All of the pieces were still there, still intact
Her stomach was intact and untouched
Her eyes and skin
Were untouched as well
Everything was in order
It was mere coincidence that he noticed what he was eating….

The center of love
The center of blood
The center of all evil
The center of all good
The heart…he ate the heart

….Tell me…
Who is the hero in this situation?
The man who cheated on his wife,
And eventually left her?
Or the woman who vengefully made her ex-husband eat his lover’s heart.
Who is the hero?