RUTH

Inspired by the British TV series, "The Life and Loves of a She Devil"


A tower, perched on a cliff edge:
picturesque, isolated.
Oh how I loathe and detest it!
It is the residence of Mary Fisher.

Bobbo, you promised you'd always love me,
but how husbands can lie
when they promise to never leave you.
Now, I am alone

in the house we once shared.
Alone, with only memories
of how we'd lived together, loved,
and conceived our children.

Did you really believe it? That I
could share you with that whore?
Well, after you left me I burnt the house down.
Let you and she be saddled with our children!

I  had my own life to rebuild, without you.
Each night I cried and cried though,
until blind fury ousted heartbreak. Naked,
I studied myself in the mirror. Yes, perhaps I was ugly -

what some men would term "a dog."
And as I scrutinized my eyes, I was shocked:
I searched deep into the pupils. There was nothing there!
You and she had sucked out my very Soul.

The She Devil took up residence then, in my hollow core.
Red eyes stared back at me, and pure power rose up inside.
I did it then - the thing you'd driven me to.
I dedicated myself to revenge.

Ah, the anticipation of payback felt SO good! It had begun.
I befriended the mother she had tucked away in a home
simply because she couldn't be bothered with her,
and I brought her back to her "beloved" daughter.

Oh how she hated the chaos her mother created - just as she hated children.
And ours were already driving a wedge
between you and her, Bobbo. I was exultant!
The She Devil's influence was growing stronger.

Others like myself I drew around me: the
ugly, down-trodden "dogs."  Together,
we helped each other to find our place of power.
We all wanted the same thing. To gain control of our lives.

Soon, I had stolen all your clients' funds - we still had a joint account, remember!
Ha! Bobbo the successful accountant! Your boring wife had outwitted you.
I was by then a wealthy woman, even more so than Mary Fisher.
I  could afford nice clothes, expensive

jewelry and sexy high heels. Bobbo,
eat your heart out! But I hadn't finished yet.
Oh no! The ultimate satisfaction was yet to come.
Agonizing, extensive cosmetic surgery.

I had to be petite, like her. But
six feet two doesn't go into five feet four.
They said it couldn't be done.
But how I proved them wrong!

Liposuction, tucks just about everywhere,
complete facial and genital transformations -
and even a section of bone
removed from each long leg.

Now, I was a much better version of Her: in fact, she was
a mere shadow of myself.
The She Devil had cursed her.
And there was no coming back from that.

Her life fell apart. The celebrated novelist
had become boring to her once adoring public.
And you, Bobbo, were growing tired of her. Poor fragile thing!
Her looks were fading too. Now I  had sucked out her Soul!

Just one look and you were mine again, but this time on my terms.
The She Devil had total power over you.
I now owned you, body and Soul, just as you'd once owned me.
And the She Devil smiled...