Woman to Woman (Poetry)

You are not sure that I exist and yet you fear I might;
You’ve grown apart but you won’t give him up without a fight.
You think of me on subway trains, in taxis, in the street,
And look for clues — those tell-tale signs — in women that you meet
As though you’re half expecting to identify, lay bare
Some enemy who’s lured your man into her sexual snare.

You are not sure you can compete and yet you’re bound to try;
Possession is your driving force since love has slipped you by.
That ring you wear has status still — you share his family name
While I play on the outside — spoil your staid domestic game
As rule-breaker and home-wrecker — adulteress — some freak
Who preys on married men and sates her hunger twice a week.

In truth, the rôle’s a lesser one — I fill a mid-life lull —
A stop-gap in his scheduled day, an antidote to dull.
I’m just a phase he’s going through until he’s had enough
Of hôtel bedroom afternoons and dominatrix stuff.
We all play out our fantasies but shows must end on cue
And when the final act is done, he’ll come back home — to you.