The other woman
Knows what it is to wait
She has learned
How to keep face
For when disappointment
Does finally arrive
She knows how to hide it
Behind a beautiful smile
There would be no point
To her shedding tears
No point to uttering words
About her own fears
She knew the gamble
Before she took it on
She knew beforehand
That she’d be on her own
The other woman
Knows how to be happy
With any small scrap
Of loving she can get
She knows not to
Ask for too much
She knows not to beg
She knows it will only end
With bittersweet regret
No point crying
On fallen knees
It’s not want he wants
It not what he needs
The other woman
Knows how to bide her time
Though unrequited
She’s already put
Her heart on the line
Although feeling fragile
She continues to shine
Hoping her sparkles
Will dazzle his eyes
She has nothing else
To keep him in her life
The other woman
Knows how to be alone
Busying herself
Whilst not waiting
By the phone
Aching for her lover’s call
She has learnt to accept
One half of an empty bed
Where she alone will sleep
Because she already knows
He is not hers to keep
The other woman
Can only be, for so long
Before her heart becomes
So bruised and broken
And she can bear no more
She’s lived with frustration
She has survived the pain
But one day
The other woman will realise
That she’s lost much more
Than she’s gained
Sharon Carter-Wray
(19thJune 2018)
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