A Friend
By Florence I.
it creeps along tattered clothes
strewn about your floor,
etching ever closer
as you wish for more,
beyond the wall,
between yourself
and what you want to call
home.
however, you don’t notice
as it breathes down your neck.
you’re calling a friend
on the outside deck,
but when you hang up
it sits beside you still,
as you dream of being gifted
a surprise drink and handmade meal.
you get ready for bed,
brush your teeth and stare in the mirror.
maybe you would gain a lover,
if your nose was right and your skin was clear.
it is gazing at your reflection with you,
when you spit out your germ-filled insecurities,
saying I’m right here,
but you don’t hear
tucking yourself in for the night,
it silently observes, as it always does.
as your eyelids droop and begin to fall,
you begin to weep because
it sinks into bed with you,
and it finally begins to sink.
you are alone,
or so you think.
it encompasses you,
embracing you,
loving you,
and you’ve been ignoring it this whole time.
loneliness isn’t so lonely
if instead of its presence feeling like grime,
It becomes only
a friend.
what it was like
By Anna K.
I watched as bit by bit
the light flowed back into me—
the golden pools of silken honey
that gleamed and hummed with life.
cupped hands darted out
to catch a whisper, to
taste the sweetness I’d longed for.
I felt for the empty shell around me,
felt for the inky darkness
that had pervaded my soul for years—
but not a piece, not a drop remained.
I sighed into the blooming air,
my breath a cloud of purest gold.
sitting there underneath the open world,
I remembered what it was like
to be full of light,
what it was like to have substance.
and there forever I lay,
shedding sweet tears as I realized
I remembered what it was like
to smile.
A Puppet Without Strings
By Nupur L.
With the dictation of her every move,
Her entire life is planned out for her.
A single 'no' is enough to abolish her most desired dreams,
Her goals and accomplishments are decidedly injected into her bloodstream.
"The world is corrupt," they say,
And yet corruption lives in the room beside her;
As they crawl under the skin they've forced her to cover,
Whispering labels that were chosen by others,
She shapeshifts into a member of society that seems socially acceptable.
The cause of her every wince,
Is the fake smile plastered to her skin,
Stiched through every pore and every acne scar she wasn't allowed to cover.
She just wants to be herself
But they shape her into someone she refuses to recognise anymore.
The Day Grandma Died
By Yael
Cold feet and
Slow heart
Quiet voices and
Blurring eyes
She was
going
going
going
away
Ticking clocks and
Ladder of time
Mournful moonlight and
No more shine
She was
going
going
going
away
Threadbare clothes and
Closed eyes
Deep holes and
Quick goodbyes
She was
going
going
going
She was gone.
A Violin's Promise
By Jacqueline W.
Moonbeams illuminate the cedar wood floors
of the tiny antique shop,
The only source of light in the darkest hour
of the night,
When dreamers dream, with only the bitter cold
seeping into fatigued bones….
Until the horizon turns orange and gold, and the moon hides its face yet again.
A small girl with red cheeks and raven black hair
opens the door,
Holding the weathered hand of father, their breaths
forming fog in the wintry air,
For in the depths of the tiny shop lay
a lone black violin case,
Out of place like a brick among colorful feathers
in stark contrast.
Once, it was apprized by many, carefully handcrafted with the utmost love and care,
And not a speck of dust dared touch
its polished varnish then.
Its warm, rich melodies had sung in many acclaimed concert halls,
Its timeless, haunting beauty connecting
the souls of strangers for that one moment,
Allowing breaths to catch and tears to inevitably fall,
fulfilling its selfless promise.
Now, after many long years trapped in the
steady undulation of the glorious past,
The violin had forgotten its promise, its concert days
only a fading dream of youth.
And the small desperate flicker of hope had
simmered to a dying flame in its fragile shell,
Until the girl with the raven black hair, straight like
the definition, became its owner.
Yes, I bought the violin that day,
For it was a joyous freedom for the girl and the violin
With its warm, rich melodies still ringing in acclaimed concert halls,
Its timeless, haunting beauty connecting the souls of strangers for that one moment,
Allowing breaths to catch and tears to inevitably fall,
fulfilling its selfless promise.
Powerless
By Isabella B.
You know that feeling when you know there is no way you can win?
when you know there is nothing you can do to change the outcome?
That is a feeling I know all too well
Powerlessness
Waking up and not being able to move from depression
just sitting there, praying and waiting for it to pass
knowing this is going to keep happening
Hearing voices tell you that if you left today, not a single person would acknowledge it?
Knowing they are wrong, but not knowing what to tell them in response
which only feeds into their egos
Seeing this faces, people, watching you as you sleep
feeling their piercing eyes amidst your dreams
waking up to see them standing there, waiting for you
Powerless against them as they grab you
powerless as you sit and wait it out
feeling you body being jostled back and forth
their searing hands grabbing at whatever flesh in exposed
Powerlessness, a chain only God can break
A feeling only God can lift
But you have to ask
meaning, in the midst of the pain, and anxiety
you need to reach your hands toward heaven and cry out to the one who created the heaven and the earth
Only he can save you from this feeling, this burden
As long as you are a child of God he will never
leave you nor forsake you
He is always there for you, arms open wide
waiting for
YOU
Invisible Friends
By Aileen K.
They want to drag me down
Hold me underwater and make me drown
Watching in the walls
Seeing all my flaws
I can't sleep because of the monsters under my bed
I can't breathe because of my invisible friends
Who Was I -- Fourth Grade
By AM
We both sat inside working on a writing assignment
My pen wasn’t quite ready to stop
And my mind wasn’t ready to escape from my own world
She sat on the other side of the room
Writing just as much
Her pen gliding quickly across the paper
She was from the good part of town
The part with big new houses
And fancy stores
And expensive clothes
Her parents had good jobs
Had stable jobs
I was from the bad part of town
That’s what everyone said at least
We didn’t have fancy houses
Or new stores
We weren’t rich
But it wasn’t so bad
Because we had a big lake
And colourful trees
Amazing neighbours
Homemade popsicles
And our own tree fort
I guess there is good in everything if you look a little closer
I guess there is bad in everything too if you stare a little longer
She caught my eye from across the room
Offering a smile
I smiled back
As she looked down at her paper
Her long dark brown ponytail fell over her shoulder
I kept writing
The words flowing out of my fingertips like waterfalls
I finished
She finished
We handed in our papers and walked out the door for recess
The playground was big
Complete with structures, slides
And a wooded area
That was alive with vibrant reds, yellows, and oranges
Autumn
Do you want to play? she asked
I was surprised that she’d want to play with me
But I nodded
We ran towards the trees
Catching the leaves as they fell
Laughing
Running
Smiling
We disappeared into our fantasy world
Fighting dragons
Helping people
Saving the world
Everyday we were unstoppable
Untouchable
We became best friends
I knew her favourite colour
Orange
Her favourite fruit
Kiwi
Her favourite ice cream
Chocolate
Her full name
Kate Elizabeth Herring
I knew her
From her electric green eyes
To her size 3 purple running shoes
We became inseparable
She protected me and I protected her
From the now fourth grade bullies
Who still liked to pick on me
Around her I talked
It’s like her ears were blind to my sloppy english
Or she didn’t care
She didn’t judge
She wasn’t like them
She was different
We planned our future together
We would be best friends forever
Or so we thought
But friendships can die just like cancer can kill
And as Robert Frost once said
Nothing gold can stay.
That Which the Light Touches
By Dessa K.
Dark red light lingers
On dust hiding in corners.
A wooden table squats
In the center of the room.
Three men recline
On leather chairs,
Distanced enough
To safely scrutinize each face
From underneath a wide brimmed hat.
White shirts attempt to breathe
Beneath black suit coats
And a fireplace’s dark coals
And the shadows that the wan light
Doesn’t dare touch.
Long cigars extend from mouths
Grungy from time and lies
And greed and secrets.
None of the men sit at the table.
They fear a hand’s theft underneath its surface
Or a sly poison from a neighbor.
They pretend to be friends.
They show their eyes when a joke is made.
They murmur appreciatively
At the latest rumors,
Never telling the ones about each other.
They watch the fire,
Pacing just outside its dreamlike trance,
Biding their time.
Shadows of Indifference
By Jacqueline W.
A night, midnight blue, one with no stars
An eye peering through the opening, clouds reflected in gaze
And blank stares, pearly white - drenched in tears
The pendulum’s swinging, completing its endless cycle
Hushed whispers ripple the surface, then back again
An unfathomable abyss and death’s glare upon us with wings of black silk shadowing
A mirror with many faces, broken shards blemishing beauty
A girl, no two. Nameless, shamelessly looking. Dreaming -
As the sweet, soul sucking vortex redeems her again
Walls encroach upon the silent dreamer as she
remembers
Transparent glass walls that cuts us with its sharp frame and protects
Unshackled but made captive, the dragon’s strength wanes from toil- where did dragon from
As two wrongs aren’t made right with Chaos king and darkness spilling
It isn’t tempest from which I hide, or fire that chars my flesh
Nor is it chilled autumn morns, or even emotion in flashing thunder and wet torrents
Or love or hate, illusions conceived by the human mind
No, it’s indifference, rather ignorance in all its selfish forms
Colorless with grey hued skies and shapeless mist delusions to cold eyes; tasteless
Silent as despair, undiscerning as the raven veers towards temporary paradise
Poison dripping from the black tongue that blots and burns
For the fair rose with its delicate shades of pinkIs nothing but deceit.
All Is Well
By Su E.
This is probably the country where all is well, I used to say,
For it is absolutely necessary that one such country
exist
To feast on the European nations, I offer myself for
their feast:
Taste me
I am a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food
I am infant’s flesh, seasoned with a little
pepper and salt
I am a considerable figure at a Lord Mayor’s feast
Drink me,
I am the salty tears on your cheek
I am alcohol absorbed into the bloodstream
I am the blood-soaked heaps of the dead and dying
For complete refund of my price and purchase…
Step right up
I know that we worship God from morning to light
Yes sir, It’s Normal
But even God tears off angels’ wings to feast on them
You see, this hemisphere is no better than the other!
Forgive me, I am the product of globalization
We Believe
By Alea V.
We believe in equality
We believe in being free
We believe in camaraderie
hard as it gets
We believe in hoping for things that just might be
and we believe that dreams come true somehow someway
We believe that hard work will take us anyway
we want to go
We believe in trying to do the right thing
We believe that people should be able to declare
exactly what they think
even though nobody else has to agree
If you're reading this and thinking "you're giving some people too much credit",
you're probably correct
But see, here's the thing
I've not lost my faith in humanity just yet
These what our values are intended to be
and
I believe that we still believe
Corner Meeting
By Ryan C.
A corner holds a special place to me
At the intersection of East and Third
We’d first smile, then exchange words
Fifteen minutes before three.
There was never a dull moment with you,
Walking beside me as a friend.
However, each day was bittersweet, too,
Knowing eventually it would come to an end.
Like waves crashing in from the tide,
The inevitable closed our days.
And now as we go our separate ways,
There’s only one regret in my head.
I kept so much bottled up inside,
There’s more that I should have said.
Home
By Aadit P.
The walls reek
of old paint
tinted decades ago.
white
and grey.
always white and grey.
gloominess hangs in the air.
Permanently.
Dust gathers in the corners,
settles on the bloody carpet.
consumes it.
No one bothers to
clean it.
Decayed wooden furniture,
dead tables and chairs
devoured by termites,
eaten alive.
Stale water,
drips from the roof
onto the wet marble floor.
Old paintings
of gods and goddesses,
of folks and cities
far away
hang on the walls
by rusty nails,
smelling of nostalgia
and sadness.
Hanging
since forever.
Kitchen shelves
filled with china,
intricate designs,
with cracks in the middle.
Dirty clothes in the cupboard.
No space for new ones.
Shattered hearts
lie around
like broken vases.
Irreversibly broken.
Put together
by glue and tape.
People who live here,
have lived here
for centuries.
Family.
So different from
each other.
So, so different.
Like cut-outs
from old, musty newspapers,
glued together
in a cheap collage.
Like seven different songs,
playing all at once.
Like all the colours of a prism
mixed together to form a
pale, blurry white.
Family.
they smile at me,
I smile at them.
People I call family.
strangers I call friends.
A broken house I call
home.
Have We Forgotten?
By Eva G.
We may boast of discovieres
And Of things we invented
We may praise new machineries
And theories just presented
There may be some of us
Who dig deeper into science
Revolutionise the world
And the theory that disproved another
But how could we forget the stars?
Those bright little dots in the sky
That once were responsible
For leading our ancestors away
How could we let the birds fly away
The very same
That used to perch up on our shoulders
And tell us tales of elsewhere?
How can we drift away
From trees so green , They illuminated the paths
And let them be replaced
By blinding , white lights
How did we forget ?
To look up at the sky
And imagine things
Then draw them up with clouds
I wonder , if we didn't
If it's just a matter of time
When someone yet again
Points up at the sky
I wonder if the world
can cherish it yet again
and bring the stars back to the cities
Instead of letting them fade away
I hope we do
One day look up at the sky
And laugh about a silly mouse
We create with the clouds
And I really, really wish
That everyone sees what I do
And point the missing stars
Back into our age of lights
All I hope
Is for the nature to harmonize
A symphony so sweet
That no one can deny
This is the way it should be
Dancing with the birds
Laughing with the crowd
And sleeping with the stars .
Just happiness for eternity
And that same old starry sky
Children admiring the beauty of nature
And not of these devil screens
What I Want to Be
By Devika S.
I aspired to be like the sky
Unpredictable, yet beautiful
Vast and infinite,
Fair and just.
I allowed the wind to caress my face
I took it in, I let it take me on
I wished to be free like it,
I desired to help you move on.
I felt the sand slip away from under my feet
Like the sins from my past lives -
Gone, yet not completely
I wished to be the waves that make you feel alive.
But now somehow,
I feel the expanse of the sky,
I feel the freedom of the wind
I feel the purity of the sea
I feel power and calm, all at once
And I realise,
I am everything I've ever wanted to be.
The Path
Ekansh L.
You're on the path you were meant to be
At times you'll lose sight of your destination
A crushing defeat, a disheartening situation
The path comes not without its perils, a tempest
of agitation
The path to nirvana, veiled by the mists of temptation
But no matter how hard it gets to see
You're on the path you were meant to be
You're on the path you were meant to be
Beneath this very path, the demons yet to haunt
you hide
And the phantoms of your past whom you will
walk beside
In this unforgiving darkness, only ambition will be
your guide
Even on this cold, dark path, in those tiny moments
of glee
You'll see you're on the path that you were meant
to be
When you tread the path upon which you were meant to be
It's easy to lose track of all your progress
Just as easy to delve on all that you've lost
But remember, the path will stay true in guiding
you to success
And no great victory ever came without a cost
Below Silence
By Sara B.
Silence has arrived--
Heavy, it is, heavy,
it is. Softly, softly we forget that our tongues were ours
Now the chaos, the tyranny is being covered over with peace
Tyranny is growing peaceful, growing
peaceful. Somewhere, Bennix is watching, watching
and weeping.
O fearless lover, I forsake myself for you, sleeping in prison
unconscious, my life; sleeping with false accusations
Heavy, it is, heavy
it is. Couldn't hold father's hand while he was preparing to leave
and left quietly. Cremated, turned to ashes, woe upon my apathy!
when did we lose what is lost
what was already lost is not-- felt, or found out. There are the walls and you,
the newspapers and you, the characters and you,
A necklace of the bygone days pricking your neck, and you--
A necklace, not a noose!
A necklace, I say, and you
Heavy, it is, heavy
it is. All systems razed down by one illness,
and everyone is weary No beds, and no work; the pandemic all that is alive, the rest just the stories of madmen
Someone comes out on their balcony and says The time has come
to pay. O friend, today our hearts were shaken by injustice and oppression
once again. What judgement? Where the grief of murder resounds
and where there is separation, what redressal? what redressal?
Heavy it is, heavy
it is. What a sinner is the heart! It knows how to live for the Self
only. To think, and laugh, and turn blood and sweat
into one, and leave the rest like lifeless dust,
only for the Self.
The heart does not know how to fetch bread
for the night. Or what misfortune should one hold responsible
for the night. Why get up, why burn again
just for the night? The things that will not hold together must scatter anyway-
Heavy it is, heavy
it is.
We are left with no tongue to speak anymore;
only a raging fire in the veins that keeps
moistening our eyes.
Moving
By Sania B.
It was a cold night,
the drizzle pittering and pattering down the window
I sat down with a cup of coffee in my hand,
wondering when was the last time
I felt this peaceful at night.
A cold breeze swooshed,
making the papers fly.
I looked at them and wondered
why do I even write?
As I searched for answers within me,
lost deep in thought,
letting the bottle burst,
tears sprang and flowed.
My grandma once told me years ago,
letting talent go to waste is like
acting paralysed when you can move.
"I'm moving, grandma," I whispered to myself.
Judge Me
By Nafisa S.
You judge me mercilessly
You judge me carelessly
Thinking I am a tool,
I ignored and kept on being a fool.
You judged me by my shade
Or by how i was made
Maybe by my religion or is that just an assumption?
Maybe by my outfit or is that just a tradition?
Maybe from where I came
Or just by my name.
Or maybe by my height
Or just by my might.
Maybe by my weight
Or maybe by my clothes' rate.
Or maybe by various reasons
Constantly recurring just like seasons.
There are these thoughts that emerge
Which, I hope would diverge.
I've gone through sleepless nights
And crazy fights.
You don't know how it feels
To be left alone during your meals
People glancing at you
And mocking at you.
For those who are being judged, listen
You absolutely glisten!
Others are jealous of your greatness
Which acts like their weakness
Don't bare!
And don't care!
Just live fearlessly
Because karma will act on them mercilessly.
Let the good vibes overcome you
Just like the freshness of a dew
If people ignore you let them be
After all you just need 'ME'
The Choice
By Irina S.
I held murder in my hands
And I couldn't hold on to it
I felt the cold weapon
Drench my palms in sweat
As I noticed the light flicker and my heart skip a beat
I saw the bullet fire
And a light blind my eyes
As I pulled the trigger
Like pulling a bow and arrow I resisted
But I wasn’t strong enough
She holds the red plastic cup
Filled with the colorful fruity yet bitter liquid that makes her cool
He holds the black metal weapon
Containing the components an 18-year-old needs to kill
She takes the shot
Letting the acid like liquid burn her throat and awaken another side of her He takes the shot
Letting the bullet fire at an innocent classmate he never longed to speak to
They took the shots.
Would you?
Fish
By Soumya R.
I have a fish.
It has a spot on its head.
Or is it a blemish?
It is blue...or maybe red.
I give it food in the morning
I give it food at night.
It just keeps on swimming
And I forget about it alright.
Anemone
By Anshuman K.
Red, mauve, pink being it's favourite hues
Protection against ill wishes is it's best earmark.
Violet, blue, yellow looks like heaven from upside
Symbolizing true love when given to someone.
Anticipating also one of its important attribute
Attracting butterflies is in her trait!
Happiness, enjoyment blossomed peacefully
While hatred, anger removed tranquilly.
While rose signifies romance
Sunflower signifies adoration
And daffodil signifies new beginning
Than anemone signifies shelter against evils.
I Hoped It Was All A Dream
By Aashna
Sneaked into my room at nine
You crashed your lips onto mine
Not a single soul in site
We kissed under the moonlight.
Like a beautiful dream it was
I wanted the time to stop
Dreams don't take much time to change into nightmares
That's how my dream crumbled infront of my eyes.
Suddenly your lips became rough
And the kiss became rushed
I told you it was enough
But then also you didn't stop.
I stopped pleading and tried to push you away
But still it didn't get to you
After all your fun you went away
And I was left feeling disgusted.
It was not the way you treated that hurt
It was those promises you broke that killed
You were meant to save me
But that day it was you that made me more vulnerable.
Silent tears and bottled up feelings
It all just burst out and I was once again cutting my self confidence
With new scars and dried up tears
That night I fell into a pit of worst nightmares.
I thought it was just a mere imagination
That's nothing but one more hallucination
I thought I made it all in my head
But my bloody imagination proved to be the worst reality upheld.
Just You and Me
By Suhani
I want to go
far with you
Run from this place
to a city new
A Paris Love
and Finland Happiness
Those Disneyland's ride
and Bali's Chill.
i want this kinda love
of ours
Adventurous,Beautiful
and funny,
A place of just
You and Me
Lives to Be Sustained
By Nilakshi C.
Millions of Futures unsure,
and the arrival of corona has made the survival,
Seem like a war.
Poverty, hunger never cured but is this situation even better than before?
Locked birds in cage,
is the new life we are forced to take.
But we antithetical humankind, won’t silently sit and wait.
A test to be taken, a mind to awaken .
Don’t worry, we are still running for the victory
Cause there are lives to be sustained and development to take its throne back again.
The world is adapting, so are you..
Change for the better is the best thought I can give you!
Problems will arise might too for around you, help if you may or treat them the
best possible way.
Untitled
By Anonymous
Sometimes, the truest serendipities turn out to be the worst nightmare;
Heart is laden with the heaviest rue,
As the lost gleam of the eyes gives you the clue.
The conflict between the mind and the heart is instilled,
As the woe running through my veins remains undistilled.
The haloed soul holds the throne,
Leading the lost to the path UNKNOWN.