Aadil Ghulam Bhat Poet and Author A dramatic monologue Ah! those days, those cursed days—when I was but a shadow, Dancing in her light—was it light or was it darkness? I cannot tell. She called herself the sun, the center of it all, And I, the orbiting moon, content to bask in her glow. How foolish was I to believe such illusions, To think that warmth was love, and light was life. She spoke of love, yes—often, with fervor— Yet her words were hollow, echoing through the empty chambers of my heart. For what is love to one who sees only herself? What is devotion but a tool, a means to an end, To chisel away at my being until nothing remained? I was clay in her hands, molded to fit her desire, Yet never enough, never whole, always lacking. Do you see how she looked at me? Or through me, perhaps? Her eyes—cold mirrors,...