The Sullied Wedding Dress… a true story in short lines.
I remember well their wedding day…
He… dashing Eton… wealthy
She … a rich Hong Kong beauty….
And we were gathered in a lavish London setting.
They lived near Hampstead’s hilly Heath.
…a leafy house
tucked up a narrow quiet road…
In time two little boys appeared
with almond eyes and shoe shine hair.
They all seemed happy in their privilege….
…almost, without a care…
Years came and went
…and then…we met again, both Tim and I.
Sipping a Boulevardier …we dined in Kensington.
What is the story of your wife ? I asked…
Your gifted Hong Kong wife
The one who is the true Love of your Life..
Tim sighed,, I visit twice a week.
He said… it’s over now for us…
After that fatal night …that incident…
I left my wife..
A man slipped up the shadows of our road one night
when I was working late…
..he scaled the gate and crept beneath the gingko tree
as silent as a prowling cat…
Climbed in an open window…entered the house
He raped my wife …Tim said…he raped…and then he left.
Oh yes…I loved my wife …
… she gave me lovely boys.
But…knowing that another man was there…
Just shut me down.
I could not love her anymore.’
Whaa whaa whaa what …..! I said…
It shut you down…! But…
it was a violation…rape !
She cannot take the blame for that !
I know …he smiled…a weary smile..
But …life is life…. and that is how I feel.
But… I still love my boys.
Deep implantations of these patriarchal ways
Still have not gone away…
And so it is…even today…
In the ‘sophisticated ‘ West,
The victim can be stamp marked with
A measure of the guilt
of that which she could not control…
.….and thus……a lovely woman from Hong Kong
Found herself alone.
Kristine Byrne 2nd Oct. 2014
Art by Anselm Kiefer.
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