He wanted a strong woman
a capable woman
a fierce woman
a loving woman

He wanted the fire
the warmth, the mystery
the ambition, the fight
the kind of woman who did not suffer fools
a woman
who knew who she was
who had stared into the depths 
of her soul's mirrors 
and faced each and every 
hideous malformed self-reflection
to find the truth
the bareness 
the sacred simple seed
of her
genuine most
unblemished self

she did.
 
and 
she became
formidable. 

she had reclaimed
her birthright
her authenticity
her feminine
her masculine
the soft
the hard
the petals
the thorns
the things she could be
and shouldn't be able to be
the ever encompassing
All

And he offered her
the seeming
safe haven
from the world which did not appreciate
her Kind.

He did this,
knowing
his truest
Want

He wanted a woman Perfect 
but Not
Perfect for him
Not for others
He wanted a woman who could 
and would
carry the weight of his world 
on her shoulders
without complaint
despite the heaviness of her own
already attempting
to cripple her posture
chipping away
at her will
to move forward
a will
which renewed 
at each 
rising sun.
He wanted such a strong woman
that she could handle her own
travesties
alone
And still nuzzle her face against 
his indifferent chest
at night

He wanted Athena
Coatlicue
Freya
Kali

he wanted all of these 
and more
in her
of her
about her
a swirl of interminable
ferocity 
cloaked in clouds
of beauteous gauze
knelt before him
curves draped
in the 
silkiest finery
and ankles gripped
in the heaviest shackles
bejeweled as they could be

he wanted her
made up and bound
bundled tidily for him to keep
as a prize
as though she were
a conquest

a gift from the universe
albeit unearned

He wanted a strong woman
forgetting 
that they do not remain 
the shelf trophy concubines
of weak men

so imagine
his shock
and surprise

when he awoke
alone
the bold electricity
of her aura
having left his home
silent
and cold
he'd find the evenings
just as barren

and the next
  and the next 
     and the next

every day
eyes fluttered open
the mind awakened
the clock
ticking its tocks away
into another
quiet
solitary
empty morning

he'd still blame her
for 
being
who she had always been
and whose light
he never
deserved

All because

He wanted a strong woman 
until her strength 
became the sandpaper 
to the thin delicate skin 
of the ego 
he had been cradling 
for decades.

He wanted the woman who didn't suffer fools
except for him
He wanted the woman
who could catch other people's
deceptions
except for his
He wanted a woman
who didn't need anyone
except
for
  huh
him

A strong woman
is only as resilient
as her partner

and he
was lacking

On an unassuming
autumn day

much like
every strong woman 
who came before her
during their
own seasons
on their own schedules
of their own volition

she left

carrying 
So much less
than before