Letter from a Jilted Lover

Dear Beloved,

This is very difficult for me to write, but it’s extremely important that I do so. I have tried to be patient. I offered my gifts to you freely, as a lover does, and all I expected in return was that you would respect me and treat me well. But something sinister has come between us that threatens to rip us violently from our warm embrace.

Who is it who has sown the seeds of mistrust? Who has convinced you of this horrible lie, that I am to be feared, or cast off, or controlled and tamed for purposes of commerce? In your heart, you must know that it is wrong, as you dig into my chest without a thought of how it affects me. I choke on your pollutants when I try to breathe, and the poisons you manufacture run through my veins and wreak havoc on my sensitive system. Why have you allowed this to be done to me, when I have showed you so much love and understanding?

It was so good at first, early in our relationship. You toiled and tended to me, your mind fully present in the moment and attentive to my needs, accepting of my little quirks and mood swings, and the ebbs and flows of my personality. We came together at the turn of each season to delight in the wonders we had created together, and to celebrate with food, dance and song in a thousand languages. We expressed the love we had for each other in the creation of our offspring, a…