The Ballad of Cleopatra

On nights like this

He’ll have to admit 

He’ll never love anyone like Her again

She was a headstrong

Full storm

Drop in the ocean

Claiming the sky

He was a romantic

Tad unrealistic 

Bred by movies that

Were yet to pay dividends 

Our story begins

In student housing

Two strangers intersect

And lives change

Will they-won’t they

Says the crowd

Who can tell

It’s not going very well

He’s old fashioned

Never thinks when he speaks

She comes off as cold

It helps wade out the creeps

Unlikely love, unlikely story

Never being honest

About how they really feel

Each getting banged up

By each new encounter

O woeful heart, will you tell thee

The object of their affection

Is the one across seas

But wait, hold on

Could it really be

Two fools at heart

But full of love 

Have decided to show

Some honesty?

Rejoice, rejoice

For this time, it will work

Why won’t it

They think alike

They speak alike

They’re the same

You wouldn’t believe.

He makes her blush

She makes him laugh

4 hours away

That's one true love

But alas, 

Problems compound

She’s not the girl 

He’d always wanted

He’s not the guy

She needs right now

Cracks are appearing

But how could it be

They’re so compatible

And yet so far in beliefs

“He’s not a positive person”

She cries

“He never works on his faults”

I’m so emotionally attached to a man

Who never listens to my actual thoughts

“She’s reluctant to accept me”

“And doesn’t respect me for who I am”

How can I think of growing old

With a person who believes that

I don’t fit her mould

They end things, prematurely

The crowd gasps

“How could it be?”

In a world where no one 

Finds love in one shot

Two identical strangers met

And conjured things out of naught

And now you expect us

To accept this upfront

That’s not how love stories work

We want a refund

But can’t you see

It was staring you in the face

He wanted stability

She wanted identity 

And that complicated their case

You see, 

She’d faced a whole life

Of love coupled with toxicity

And when the time came

All she wanted 

Was a relationship 

That was healthy

He’d spent his whole life

Believing he wasn’t good enough

And though he’d made peace with it

He just wanted unconditional love

O Cupid

Why are you so hell bent

On ruining lives 

To prove a point

That love is your sin

And love is your saviour

It all just seems 

A little futile

But fear not

There is an epilogue

The lovers meet 

one last time

With the promise

Of not going rogue

7 days

Well, 6 and a half

To make up for 3 years

Of desires, tears and laughs

They fight

They make love

They fight again

They fuck

In less than a week

They realise

This was so close

To being the rest of their lives

But you can’t take away 

This night

From them

She’s holding his arm

It’s 1 am.

He’s looking at her

And tells her straight 

“You’re the most beautiful 

Person I’ve ever met”

One last tryst in the dark

Thank god for Plan B

He lies awake

As she doses off

He’s afraid to fall asleep

For tonight, the dream ends

The chapter comes to a close

Our two lovers drift away

Thinking of what

God only knows

—

In the background you see

An alternate reality

Where they lived happily

Ever after

Or so the story goes

They’re watching Netflix

On rainy days

With hot beverages

And comfy clothes

She introduces him 

To her friends

All grown ups

Talking micro-agressions

And student loans

She meets his friends

Immature but loving

Always down for a fun time

And mirror images of him

He meets her family

It’s awkward at the start

But they get his humour

And can gauge his heart

She meets his family

And finally realises

Where this specimen

Comes from

Such subtle traits

That he’s shamelessly swiped

Makes her love him

Even more so

They read books 

On sunny days

Chatter in restaurants

Listen intensely at plays

Pick up fast food on bikes

Get frisky in movie halls

Well, they do get frisky

More often than not

He’s teaching her math

She’s teaching him expressions

One helps with taxes

One with grammar suggestions 

On some nights

They fall asleep talking

On others

They can’t look up

From their phones

He cooks 

She lies

It really isn’t that burnt

They take walks

To places they know 

Oh so well

And to neighbourhoods

They’ll never visit again

They go to concerts

Together

Holding hands

And dancing

Kissing deeply

When the favourite part

Of their favourite song

Comes on

He takes her back 

To the place where 

They first met

That metal bench

In student housing

Gets down on one knee

And promises eternity

It’s a quiet affair

Close Friends and family alone

He has more of the former

She has more of the latter 

They honeymoon

In a european country

He can’t pronounce.

Micromanaging the itinerary

Only to spend

All day in bed

They start building a life together

401ks and house loans

Did you pay the rent?

Did you pay electricity?

Take out the garbage

That's recycle, silly

Until one fateful evening

They sit on the bathroom floor

Clutching that damn 

Piece of plastic

With one ominous red line

And yet, one more

As they look at each other

And wonder

“What are we going to do

With the rest of our lives?”

He reaches out

In a tell-tale fashion

Squeezes her hand

And promises her

“It’s going to be alright”

No one prepares you

For the first child

If you thought 

He freaks out

Over bleeding toes

You have no idea

What the creation

Of human life

Would invoke

He hangs on

Every single

Instruction from the doctor

She disregards it

Cause she’s the one in charge

They argue 

Over what to name 

Their baby boy

They finally decide

On her naming 

The first

And him, the second

Which is kinda unfair

Cause only she decides

If there will be a second

As one child comes

Their lives catapult

Sleepless days

Sleepless nights

So much to do

And just when

They think they’ve got this

Another one comes along

And so they raise their kids

In a protected way

But not too protected

In a loving way

But not too spoilt

In an open environment

With many restrictions

Encouraging their choices

But protecting free will

And like this,

With teenage tantrums

And family trips

And good schools

And good colleges

Keeping them safe

And sheltered

All of a sudden

They’re all grown

Far too quickly

As one already knows

Before long

The youngest departs

Leaving an empty home

An empty table

And he’s got

The same look 

In his eyes

As she did 

When they first knew

“What are we going to do

With the rest of our lives”

So, following suit

She reaches over

Squeezes his hand

In that tell-tale fashion

And promises him,

“It’s going to be alright”

They celebrate their achievements

And over celebrate their kids’

Support each other all the way

Whether it’s chaperoning at her Oscars

Or the front row at his TED Talks

Before wrinkles appear 

On both their faces

And back problems 

Start to trump 

Financial problems

They barely talk on days like these

What’s left to know

They’ve shared an entire life together

They’ve literally grown old

Until he stands up one day

And puts on a song

They haven’t heard

In 50 years

He asks for her hand

She blushes

He laughs

And they sway together 

To some forgotten song

That means the world

To some 20 year old

Strangers

Yes, it was those 20 year olds

Unaware of the world at their reach

Foolish in their own ways

Not knowing that the door

To student housing

Was going to open

And just

 because

They were at the

Right Place

At the

Right Time

Their lives would

Never be the same.

—

He sighs

And Closes his eyes 

And waits for tomorrow

To bid goodbye

On nights like this

He’ll have to admit 

He’ll never Love anyone like her again

And that has made all the difference.