VIOLET
We were one in body and soul.
INDIGO
We stood together never breaking apart.
BLUE
After they tried to drown us you forgot how to breathe.
GREEN
Your thorns pierce my heart.
YELLOW
I search for another sun in my solar system.
ORANGE
Fall seven times. Get up. Eight.
RED
The wounds heal but the scars remain.
The 1st day
Sirens awakened the Moonman from his boozy slumber.
The 2nd day
His hangover left him soon after the rigid limbs were caressed by the mortician.
The 3rd day
A flutter of paper, stuttering sex workers and clicks of a pen droned for hours at end.
The 4th day
The Moonman was desperate. He fought. He argued. He hit, again. He killed, again.
The 5th day
She wasn’t found, she wasn’t as important. But the gun was.
The 6th day
The solemn, smoking sergeant knew enough to guess, but still too less.
The 7th day
The Moonman ; a crescent inked onto his neck and a face just as cratered with scars and pockmarks. Repeat offender. Madman. Drunkard. Lost soul. 6ft 3 inches.
The 8th day
He chose bottles of booze to escape rather than boats. He could have, he just didn’t.
The 9th day
The sergeant was ready to tighten the noose. Evidence in place, bullets in case.
The 10th day
The moonman heard whispers around the brothel and bar. They were coming for him.
The 11th day
He sat next to the sea. Fight or flight, all his life.
The 12th day
They found him. He found her. She found eternal silence.
~
After all he was hunting for a star to shine with him in the pitch dark. (Misery loves company)
She was corrupted as was he and in that lay their destiny…..
~
Aryaman Kumar is an occasional writer, based near Pune (Maharashtra). He is inspired by strong opinions, beliefs and real life experiences. Human emotions find a significant foothold in his work. He hopes to be a medical professional in the future and raise awareness about medical illnesses.
By Aryaman Kumar
I was walking in darkness. I didn’t dare think about it, because then I would drown.
And if I started to drown, I know I wouldn’t be able to save myself.
Breathe.
Was all I could do. I was a ghost with a beating heart.
All around me, was the abyss of nothing. Yet, in the nothingness, there was everything. Every sort of pain.
The inescapable frozen claws of fear gripped me constantly, and I felt the cold, cruel, yet peaceful wave of emptiness flow over me.
Breathe.
I don’t know why. I don’t know why I kept walking aimlessly.
All I knew was
Breathe.
Why was I even breathing?
I collapsed, a single tear falling off my face and onto the destitute ground.
Until I saw the light.
Breathe.
The light was warm, and it chased away the demons that lurked in the shadows.It dried my tears, and sewed the pieces of my heart together.
Thanks to the light, I finally had a reason to
Breathe.
~
{ Title inspired by non-fiction autobiographical book written by Paul Kalanithi. }
By Aryaman Kumar
Tears roll down my eyes,
As I sit under starry skies.
The stars shine, in the deep black sky
I sit and stare, travelling anywhere
My mind’s a mess, for its under distress
Those memories hurt, as the mind crumbles.
All this serves to make me humble.
As I recollect my faults.
From those deep, deep vaults
I miss you still, my heart isn’t still.
It breaks and tears, along my stay
I do still cry though I’ve lost my way.
I do miss you still, and I’ve done this before.
I’ll break myself as ever more.
Thunder strikes
The skies break
The rains begin, with a brake
Even nature stares.
Ever all human and we make mistakes,
Only to lament after we’ve lost our stake.
The heart is beaten black and blue
The mind has vanished askew
The soul is lonely, pale and stale.
For it’s shut its doors on life and ale
I’ve grown to try and escape
But alas I can’t let go of my mistakes
Seeking redemption on every door
Will you but not answer my call ?
The promises made , will be kept
Tis for that , I have wept.
Feelings of disappointment pain and betrayal
Words said with out scale,
Meaningless as they are.
They still strike without care.
And I look beyond the valley
And fade away.
Aayush Gugnani is an amateur writer based out of New Delhi. He uses free style word play to express his political opinions and occasionally dabbles in poetry. He uses the world as his canvas and believes in expressing his thoughts and feelings openly.
By Aayush Gugnani
In the breezy summer
With the golden sun,
Shimmering at the horizon
I stood there in oblivion.
Standing at the worlds end
Waiting for you to come back,
I clinged on to my memories with you
Cherishing our moments as a pack.
What once was a dream for me,
Became a reality.
Once I was an ill fitted piece
Soon we became family.
We held each other in times of despair
And had each other’s back here & there.
Never had the world,
Seen such a ravishing pair.
We were unbreakable,
Like a covalent bond.
At least that’s what people said,
To which we replied it was a miracle of the gods’ wand.
Alas ! Now you’ve gone too far
Away from the gusty winds
Away from being what you were
Or who you are.
I’m not complaining for the woes
Happy you finally got what’s yours.
I’ll be there if and when you return
To fill your saddened pores.
Life without you in the beginning was tough,
Nights were endless and rough.
Though I learned to cope with them,
Yet, I wonder how can I pacify my sinking soul.
O how do I break myself from these shackled chains?
To go back to being what I really was.
Don’t ever think I’m not with you.
I’m an undercurrent,
You might not be able to see me
But in all your times of both happiness and despair,
I will be omnipresent.
Life’s a chaos without a pattern
One moment we’re here,
The other we’re not.
Yet, I try to maintain positivity in life.
Try to look up and find the northern light,
Look down to see the sea shimmering bright.
The haze maybe temporary,
But the maze is permanent.
Our laugh maybe fading,
But our love for each other,
Our love is effervescent.
Ishaan Garg is a positive boy of 19, who hails from the heritage city of Gwalior and is currently studying at Christ University, Bangalore. The habit of writing developed accidentally, when he was somewhat in a state of stress. His writings decode the reality of life, world and the holistic learning, he received from the society, and also one’s understanding towards it.
कुछ सुनने की तलभ थी,
दिल ही दिल हसीन सपनों से भरी एक नदी थी,
इशारों भरे समझौतों में वो बेशरत प्यार कि बर्नी थी,
उसके हाथों में मेरा हाथ देख, वक़्त की भी साँसें थमी थीं,
इन सबके बीच, बस उस प्यार के इहज़ार की कमी थी,
जिसे सोच कर मेरी दिल की धड़कने भी सहमी थीं,
कुछ ऐसी उनकही सी थी वो प्रेम कथा,
जिसकी दास्ताँ सिर्फ़ ख़ुदा के दरबार में बनी थी।
कुछ बातें अनकही सी, दिल ही दिल दफ़न हो जाती है,
होंटों तक आती है, पर बयाँ नई हो पाती है,
कहो, तो सज्जन्नों को तख़लीफ पहुँचाती है,
ना कहो, तो मनुष्य को अवसाद के चक्रवूयह में फाँसती है,
क्या वर्चस्व है, ऐसे लोकतंत्र का,
क्या महत्व है, इंसानियत से भारी भावनाओं का,
जब दिल ही दिल, चंद अनकही बातें,
मनुष्य का बहुमूलए जीवन, उससे छीन जाती है।
गुमनामी की सरहद पर भटकता,
एक प्यार का प्यासा जीव,
बस एक ख़्याल दौहरता, गुनगुनाता,
पल भर बस यह सोचता,
यह क्या ज़ुल्म है जो समाज को बर्दाश्त नहीं,
यह क्या वाक्य है जो आज की आराधना नहीं,
यह क्या गुण है, जसकी कोई शिक्षा नहीं,
यह कैसा प्यार है, जिसमें कोई बंधन नहीं,
यह कौनसी इंसानियत है, जिसमें कोई मानवता नहीं,
क्या यही है मौजूदि दुनिया, जिसमें स्नेही प्रमाण नहीं,
या यही वो भरम्माण है, जिसमें बसी गुमनामी कहीं।
Sabah Kaur Mann is a young writer and poet based out of Jalandhar. She practices formal poetry and inspirational prose to accentuate societal problems that people face in their day to day life. She prefers to write under a pen name – ‘Genesis’ which is interpreted as the origin of a new beginning.
By Sabah Kaur Mann (Genesis)
I’m writing this to the girl who cried,
I’m sorry you felt like you died.
I know this wouldn’t make it fine,
So forgive me if I crossed a line.
I see you waiting after all this time,
With no one sparing you a single time.
I know you went through a terrible life,
Believe me you’ll get through this strife.
I know my words seem like a lie,
But these horrible times will surely die.
You will soon bloom like the Queen-of-the-Night,
And will positively get through this plight.
The girl who cried was once my name,
But sadly no one told me the same.
I died each night, each time, each day,
But I couldn’t ever follow this way.
So save yourself it’s all I ask,
Don’t burden yourself with every task.
Just be yourself and dry your tears,
Scream and let go of all your fears.
By Sabah Kaur Mann (Genesis)
You can be the wisp,
or you can be the storm.
It might be rough,
yet you needn’t conform.
They might try to thaw,
from ice to ash.
If that flays you raw,
try not to crash.
No need to dry,
those tears you hide.
Whenever you cry,
remember, it’s just a tide.
You are yourself,
no change required.
They can’t put you on a shelf,
you aren’t some ‘thing’ acquired.
By Sabah Kaur Mann (Genesis)
Welcome to the world,
Where terror isn’t a crime.
So many people have hurled,
Somehow, nothing changed over time.
I’m puffed-up and proud,
To call myself an army brat.
I stand out in a crowd,
No matter where I’m at.
See, everyone in our nation,
Can sleep a peaceful sleep.
Because my father at his station,
Makes sure that we do not weep.
Yet, bigoted politicians,
Do not seem to care.
They have made it their missions,
To use words to ensnare.
They negotiate with the enemies,
And always protect their skin.
Feeding on our amenities,
They betray their own kin.
We wished those unfulfilled words of honour,
Become a wisp of hope.
Patriotism lost its valour,
And somehow meant a necklace of rope.
By Sabah Kaur Mann (Genesis)
How many women believe,
That the wrongs happening to them are right?
How many women will grieve,
For the events that happen to them every night?
I’m not telling you to take it,
Nor fake it and say, “It’s alright”.
I’m asking you to not just sit,
And act like it’s not a problem just cause it’s out of sight.
Nobody has the right to tell you what to do,
Nor to tell you what to wear.
They can’t push their opinion on you,
And then snatch away your air.
There is no one else who holds you hostage,
Except your own mind,
Your life is a book, write your own page,
You never know just how much you will find.
By Sabah Kaur Mann (Genesis)
I tried to be sugar,
In a world full of spice.
The world threw a dagger,
Cause I tried to be nice.
I tried to be a friend,
In a world filled with hate.
The world asked me to end,
Cause I tried to depend on fate.
I tried to be different,
In a world so mundane.
The world became a parent,
Cause I didn’t try to be the same.
I tried to be the best,
In a world that held me back.
The world pointed out to the rest,
Everything I ever did lack.
I tried to be myself,
In a world as fake as ours.
The world put me on the highest shelf,
And then left me there for hours.
By Sabah Kaur Mann (Genesis)
Lost in the fields of my own mind,
I drown in the river of regret.
My essence somehow I cannot find,
Millions cause me to fret.
And in those fields I find no light,
Just darkness all around.
And in those days I lose my might,
And I realise I’m nowhere to be found.
The river rushes by so fast,
My regrets I see flowing by.
And sometimes I drown in at last,
Still asking the question – Why?
My essence lost bit by bit,
A trade with the devil it seems.
And nothing ever seems to fit,
Yet somehow I drown my screams.
I care for some who never care,
I fret and fret for an empty face.
My love I somehow cannot share,
With those who keep changing their pace.
Be it fields or rivers,
My essence or my mind.
In the end I remember,
People cannot always be kind.
Saanya Sodhi is a young writer, based out of New Delhi. Saanya uses free style poetry to give form to her feelings, thoughts and opinions. Love is one of her favourite feelings to give shape to through her writings. She wishes to grow more with each passing day as a writer. She goes by the pen name Spero and also uses the hashtag #speŕowrites🌼, to display her writings.
By Saanya Sondhi
At 5 in no time, I scroll through all my content apps,
I scroll through my social media
I see how songs from another age make my friends feel warm
I however lay here, in this infinite cold just scrolling.
I have so much content, content to go through, so many words to learn and study through
But all I want at this brink of dawn is to talk to you
Talk about how the universe was made, how the matter that’s light is not even one-fourth of this universe
And how we’re just a tiny speck, a nothing in that something.
How I’m something everywhere, but how I’m not everything
How my memories juxtapose at this time of the twenty four hours
I want to talk to you about the marvels of the universe and the marvel cinematic universe,
I want to talk of everything I know and listen to everything you have to say.
I want tell you about my fascinating horror of numbers
I want to tell you about my love letters, the ones I wrote to space.
I want to hear about your life and about your last love,
I can talk hours about love only if you’d like to listen….
I’ve written speeches on ambition, on dreams that are yet to take form,
I could tell you about how I’ve adored and waited for the stars when everyone I knew was busy clicking the sun lit sky.
Just like I waited for them I’ll even wait for you,
For that night to come one day when we’d talk about life, analyse Beauvoir’s works, appreciate Marsha’s existence
When we’d, undress each other’s scars and listen to our heartbeats and to our hidden muffled screams.
For that day when the galaxy will shine and the universe will align
I’ll wait for that night, for you to realise …..
By Saanya Sondhi
Good with words,
People say I’m good with words
How my words are raw and how I am great at putting alphabets in lines that make sense.
I’m still scared to go deeper with my cuts, more than I am scared to go deeper with my words
I think it’s a good thing, maybe for the world it is.
The colour red pacifies me when the ques of alphabets don’t
Maybe if I was gone, maybe then someone would see me.
I’m screaming for help
But the buds of their own life are between me and them,
Why am I too poor for them?
There’s a voice screaming in my head,
Laying, saying maybe I’m not worth it,
pictures showing maybe I’m not.
My conscious knows I believe in case studies, my mind making me my own.
I am my own victim, I am the universe’s victim.
But I can’t say it out loud.
Knowing that I don’t have happiness is so much easier to accept,
than knowing that I’m meant to give is so much beautiful than what it truly is.
Tears have put me to sleep more than sleep when it came to lie with me,
Screams have tired me more than fatigue,
when I saw starvation as a pretty look on me.
The voices that become miserable sounds in my head tell me that I am my own victim.
Those sounds overlap to become cries of help to no one listening.
I often wonder what can be more important than me on the verge of dying for them.
I often wonder where they are when I’m closer to the knife than I am to my bed on which I’m lying.
There’s not miles but even more of skin that I can see is wrong.
There’s this figure in the mirror that I can see is not worth it.
As I tip-tap my fingers on my screen my cheeks become wet,
as I pull down my panel to see my hopes fade away.
I shouldn’t, I know, I shouldn’t be angry,
but when I see them crying over a broken heart
I want to show my soul to them.
I want to show how no adherent could fix the cracks the shreds of black.
I’m closer to death than I’ve ever been to life.
By Saanya Sodhi
Young love makes me as happy as the feeling of my cotton dress on my legs, flying in the direction of the wind, going with the wind
I recently learned what a pluviophile is, euphoria took over me as I found another word synonymous with my name
The petrichor makes me feel at home even when I’m not, the wetness of the rain replaced tears on my cheeks
I feel happy in the rain, imagining and re-imagining scenes from movies that happened and from my life that never did
I see a lot of young love around me today, I’m at that age when the little girl that was always scared of the rain thought she would live through young love
But all I live is see and the only way I live, vicariously
I was once scared of the rain, I thought it would flood our homes, that was before emotions flooded my heart and numbness my body
I thought our house would break under the pressure of water but that was before the pressures of love and life scared me much more
I used to think after the rain only wooden boats could save us, the boats of hope have proven otherwise
The me then wanted to live to see love, the me today wants to live for the same
Just that then I was a girl who was in love with love, no complexities, no questions
And today I am the girl who wants to understand all about Aphrodite, Apollo and Inanna
I am heart broken and a boy didn’t break my heart.
After all this time,
I was on the brink of losing my will to be stronger,
So I tried looking for a fresh start,
I didn’t think I could wait for you any longer.
Believing all our efforts had gone in vain,
I became oblivious to the void in my heart,
That is, until you were at my doorstep again.
I couldn’t believe my eyes,
I pinched myself just to be sure,
But there you were, with your arms wide open,
My heartache’s cure.
You cracked the same nonsensical jokes and snorted out the familiar goofy laugh,
You could light up any room with your presence, no matter how obscure,
Everything about you,
Reminded me why love was something worth fighting for.
Effortlessly, we went back to the slow summer nights,
As the sky melted from orange to blue,
Spinning in linen dresses under the city lights.
We sang along to our favourite tunes out loud,
Waltzed around the street unabashed,
Finally stopped worrying about the views of the crowd.
Although it pains me to think that not too long ago,
You were forced to say goodbye,
I’ve learnt,
Problems occur now and then,
But true love can’t be taken away by the tides of time, the wrath of gods or the close-mindedness of men.
The fact that we’re together,
Even after all these trials,
Proves that ‘love overcomes all obstacles’ isn’t just a myth.
So, as we kissed underneath the starlit sky,
I realised I couldn’t fall for you again,
Because I had never stopped loving you to begin with.
By Shreeja Singh
How long do I have to wait?
How long do I have to seek?
An empty road
An even more barren heart
You fight for glory
You fight for hate
You fight for everything
Yet I am the one who waits
How long do I have to wait for you to come home?
How long do I have to be forlorn?
Fake smiles, stoic laughs
Happy parties but no part
A rippling river
Bustling with life
But why am I the lone bud
Alone waiting as I strive
Why can’t you see I fight against the ultimate?
The ticks of clocks
Closes and locks
The open door we had before
The actual feelings start to wither
At the core
Why do I wait?
Why do I wait?
For a man who leaves me behind
For a hand that doesn’t hold mine
For eyes that no longer gleam
We may see the same moon and sunshine
But farther than we seem
I lose a lot for you to gain
I then choose to remain
You leave to fight battles that are not yours
You leave to win and rejoice
The end result of our choice
But I am the one who waits
Alone without you
Waiting and waiting
Serene and astute
I gave up a choice to stand beside you
You chose to make me wait
For you
Why should I wait?
For whom should I wait?
Battle gears, war fields
Leave a little blood for me
Drop by drop you water a soil
You use your blood to nurture an unknown seed
But what about the one you left in me
But what about the blood that needs to flow through your heart
So I stop waiting and end this treacherous path
If you want to bleed the whole of you
For a land that will forget you in
Bloodied pages of time
If you want to fight
Fight for a battle that may never be yours
But leave a little drop for me to make that heart beat
But fight a war for me by giving me back my choice
As a beauty waits home
So does a seed
Waiting and waiting
For you to meet.
Standing in front of the mirror
Naked
Vulnerable
Disgust was not an alien feeling to her
Questioning her existence, as tears streamed down her face
She had never thought heartbreak could do this.
Love, incomprehensible to her
Yet she herself decided to give it a chance, give him a chance
And yet both betrayed her
Leaving her exposed and in desolation.
She was afraid of love
Afraid of opening up to the wrong person
And getting heartbroken
And yet,
She took a leap of faith.
Wishing to go back in time
Wishing to have never met him
Wishing to have not fallen in his trap
Was futile
And yet she wished for all this.
However,
Her spirit,
Couldn’t be broken.
Picked herself up from the floor
Dried up her tears
Stared at her reflection
Felt an unusual emotion bloom in her chest.
Love?
What she felt could only be termed as love
Disbelief was prominent on her face
An unfamiliar emotion had overpowered the emotions felt previously
Liberation was felt to her core
Liberation from the disgust towards herself
Acceptance of her imperfections
Embracing herself she whispered,
“I am enough.”
" Young Writers' Collective" 