Love Poem: Kind of Like Sylvia: Part 2
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Written by: Courtney Dyer

Kind of Like Sylvia: Part 2

Success divided them
Opening up doors 
That should have remained closed
The temptress walked right in
Made herself at home
And conquered what was not hers 
Leaving Sylvia feeling betrayed and alone
Another man leaving her life
She was never given the opportunity to know
What security from a man feels like
She was always left to make it on her own
Never having anyone to count on
Never having someone to give 
Her unconditional love and security


Then her tragic end
While her unsuspecting children
Lay in their beds
Peacefully sleeping
Unaware of the doom to come
She placed her head in a gas stove
Suffocating from the toxic fumes
Though her physical deprivation of oxygen
Made her body violently contort
Maybe her demise was
The only way she knew to
Release the pain in her soul
That was haunting her always
Like a shadow
Following her 
Until she sought to end
Her life's journey
That constantly betrayed her


Though many believe that
The soul who commits such a dreadful act
Will be punished for all eternity
In a darker place then they ever knew on earth
I wonder if there is 
Such a price to pay
Why cannot payment be demanded
From the ones who were 
Figuratively gripping her by the throat
Leaving her feeling 
That there was no other way out
Leaving her to face each day
Bitterly alone


Sylvia's life and mine
Are intertwined in so many ways
Though my Father is very much alive
It seems like his death came long ago
Because we are strangers
My relationship with him
Has profoundly affected 
How I view men at present
And probably until the day 
My life ends
Like Sylvia, my husband and I
Share a bond through our poetry
Our intellectual conversations
Stimulate our minds and strengthen our bond
But, then infidelity, abuse and betrayals
Ended the magic between us
Leaving our relationship dormant
Temporary bliss is all I have been given
Though I am grateful for 
The chance to experience it at all
My life is empty
Without the security that a man brings
When you can trust him with everything
That you possess
Your innermost secrets
Your dreams
And even your very soul
For this security escaped
Sylvia and I both
This void bonds us
Even beyond the realm of death
Because pain is never-ending