I want no pledges of undying love

Once

I believed in pixies, magic

and true love,

I cried over love stories,

And believed in happily-ever-afters

Love was indeed a many-splendoured thing

so full of laughter, and tears, and happiness

so joined-at-the-hip, hours of togetherness

reading books together, pausing to kiss

arguing amicably, passionately

watching a movie,

murmuring 'I love you' for no reason whatsoever

Now

I am wise in the ways of the world

and struggle to find meaning

in empty words and promises

I want no pledges of undying love,

no sweet nothings whispered in my ears

no trinkets to delight me

or promises of eternal togetherness

Just shared laughter, camaraderie

And suffice it that I am missed sometimes

and told that. Oh, just because...

But oh, why does it ache so

when what I need is so little

That begs the question

How little is 'so little'?

and when does that become

'too much' to give?

Does my being right

automatically make you wrong,

or vice-versa?

Is there a right and wrong?

Is life just black and white

with no shades of grey

or no colours at all?

© Anuradha Warrier