I knew my wife was cheating, 

But I didn’t know his name, 

I tried hard not to believe it, 

But the suspicion still remained. 

It was the little things she did, 

That made me believe she was untrue , 

Like the extra makeup she would wear, 

That she never used to do.

And the amount of weight she lost,

It seemed, she was always on a diet,

I’d mention it to her.

And she’d just angrily deny it.

So I followed her one evening,

To a house, not far from ours,

It was a big house, with a driveway,

Clipped hedge and boarder flowers.

And I waited just across the road,

Until a man opened the door,

A well dressed, professional looking man,

That I’d never seen before.

Well, she was there for no more than an hour,

Then left, tucking in her blouse,

I waited for a while,

And then drove back toward our house.

Determined we would meet again,

This professional man and I,

But when I followed him, a few days on,

I confess I was surprised.

Because he went to a homeless shelter,

And helped out there for a while,

Then stopped at the children’s hospice,

To comfort a sick child.

And I wondered how a man could be,

So caring in his life,

Yet hypocritical and callous enough,

To steal another’s wife.

Could it be, I wondered,

If the truth of it was this,

That she lies to him as she does to me,

And he doesn’t know that I exist?

Perhaps he thinks that she is single,

Not a cheating, lying tramp,

And if he passed me in the street,

He’d have no idea who I am.

It was the only explanation,

But I still had to be sure,

So I went back to that well kept house,

And knocked upon the door.

He didn’t seem at all concerned,

To see me standing there,

Who I was or what I wanted,

He seemed totally unaware.

Patiently he stood there, 

And then asked me why I came, 

It was then I saw the plaque, 

Upon the wall, that bore his name.

Mr David Wilson-Price,

Cardiac physician,

I tried to speak but couldn’t,

My mind confused by indecision.

Then all at once it hit me,

It all became so clear,

My wife was not unfaithful,

Though that’s how it had appeared.

With her sneaking out at all hours,

Saying she needed to be alone,

Whispering as I walked by,

Or hanging up the phone.

Even our saving started dwindling,

So of course, I thought the worst,

But she was paying for a specialist,

For some decease of hers.

Some unknown heart condition,

That secretly she kept,

It all made perfect sense now,

And silently, I wept.

Mr David Wilson-Price, 

Looked puzzled but concerned,

And kept asking, “Can I help you?”

But I made no reply, just turned.

I don’t recall the drive back home,

But I made it safe and sound,

Fumbled with my front door keys,

And dropped them on the ground.

And as I bent to retrieve them,

My wife opened the door, 

And suddenly the keys I’d dropped,

Weren’t important anymore.

I threw my arms around her,

It’s all that I could do,

And both of us burst into tears,

For she knew then that I knew.

And I held her, how I held her,

So tight I thought that she might break,

How could I think such awful things,

Of her, for heaven’s sake.

This woman that had loved me, 

Since way back in our youth, 

I felt so ashamed and guilty, 

Now that I knew the truth.

But she was so apologetic,

Repeating time and time again,

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry”,

As though she were to blame.

She said, “I really tried to tell you,

I did, I did, I swear,

But they’ve diagnosed heart cancer,

And that’s so very, very rare,

I thought they might be mistaken,

Or at least might have a cure,

And I didn’t want to worry you,

At least not till they were sure.

But there is no cure we know of,

And it gradually grew worse,

Until she was totally dependent,

On both me and her nurse.

Now, six months on, my wife is gone,

My world lies at my feet,

Those months went past so very fast,

And I feel so incomplete.

I regret that she’s not with me,

I regret that she fell ill,

I regret that I mistrusted her,

And I know I always will.

Though she told me that she understood,

And readily forgave,

But I blame myself, no-one else,

And I will do to the grave.

By S.E.Ralph

19-2-2019