The conspiracy theory I absolutely believe in is that everything is going to be okay. Not because the signs say so. Not because things look promising. Just because… what else is there to believe in when your whole world starts caving in? Hope is the only lie I will justify till my end. For a…
A Train of Kindness
The train’s rhythmic clatter was oddly soothing, masking the storm in my heart. My day had been nothing short of a nightmare… Interrogated at a police station and forced to flee my hostel room!? It was a scene straight out of a thriller movie, except I was the unwilling protagonist. Exhausted and emotionally wrecked, I…
Be a Frank and Raise a Phil
I don’t know if I want kids. I really don’t. Some days, I imagine a full, meaningful life without them- and it feels great. But if life ever takes me down that path, if I do end up becoming a parent, then I want to be the kind that Frank Dunphy was to Phil. I’ve…
Equanimity
What do you think gets better with age? There comes a point when you stop wanting to win every fight. You stop needing to be right all the time. You just want peace. Not the absence-of-noise kind of peace, but a stillness that stays even when everything around you is falling apart. I think that’s…
Taking a Chance on Someone
I’ve always been a person who cried at people’s good deeds. Whenever someone helps another just out of the sheer goodness of their heart- I sob. I sob like there’s no tomorrow. Because I know the other end. I’ve been at the receiving end. I know how much it means to get the right help…
Magnolia
If I were a flowering plant, I would be a Magnolia… Not because I’m always graceful, but because I’ve had to learn how to bloom in spite of the weight I carry. My roots run deep, tangled in generations of striving, sacrifice, and survival. I come from the earth that compacts financial anxiety- it’s shaped…
Less Luggage, More Comfort
One of my favourite things my dad ever said was, “less luggage, more comfort.” It sounds so simple, almost too light to hold meaning. But it’s a philosophy that has quietly settled into me over time. Whether or not I’ve always lived by it, I know now that it’s the way I want to move…
Swimming
I used to fear the water-Its depth, its pull, the not-knowing.Trembling at the edge of every pool,I always Imagined all the ways I’d sink.But something softened over time-Maybe the fearOr maybe me? Now I see it differently-The water welcoming meAnd I welcome it back.It carries my weight gently Like a dream I almost missed but…
I Was Right
I walked out.Neither stumbled nor shattered-But blazing.The door didn’t slam behind me;It sighed.Because even it knewThat I outgrew that room. Looped apologies,Half-felt gestures,Or calendar-slot appreciationsNever sufficed.For I am not a convenienceI was always a crescendo.I am the last line in a poemThat makes your throat ache. I deserve roaring,Not routines.I deserve minds that trembleWith awe…
Tonight, I’m Planting a Garden.
I might fuck aroundAnd turn my sorrows into a garden-Kneel in the dirt andPlant every tear like a seed.I’ll watch my wildflowers claw from the earth,Their roots tangling everything I’ve lost. I’ll tell the bees it was worth it-Every bloom is proof I bled for this.I’ll scatter petals over my old wounds,Dig trenches for the…
Human, After All.
They say the earth renews itself every few million years,But what about you?How often can you split yourself openTo rebuild what the world keeps shattering? Resilience isn’t an armor,It’s the soft, aching pulse beneath the bruise,The quiet decision to standEven when the ground feels like it might dissolve. Strength isn’t always loud. They say “what…
Life’s Leftovers’ Lessons
We often think of the things we lost- dreams that faltered, relationships that unraveled, moments that slipped through our fingers as failures or regrets. But what if they’re not? What if they’re seeds of something new, fragments waiting to be reimagined? The broken pieces of our lives didn’t lose their worth simply because they didn’t…
“It’s okay, cry if you want to”.
Today was one of those days where I was royally losing my shit. I was talking to my boyfriend- having the kind of talk you do when your chest feels too full. If you don’t let it out, you’ll choke on it… Yeah, one of those days. I was telling him how I’ve been struggling…
Fade Into You
I wrote an email, “this song reminds me of you: https://open.spotify.com/track/1LzNfuep1bnAUR9skqdHCK?si=S04RojQOSueY5WyRLFUX9Q”. I couldn’t send it though. I stared at my simplest email for a long time. Sending it would mean admitting something neither of us was ready to realise just yet. Because Fade Into You isn’t a regular romantic jam. So instead, I played it…
Everything for/to Everyone
We are so used to seeing everything everywhere that we are slowly forgetting what feels authentic to us. We scroll through curated lives, perfect angles, carefully chosen words, and somewhere along the way, our own voice starts sounding unsure. I was someone who used to post photos, write long posts, and share thoughts simply because…
Legacy
I’ve been wondering what my legacy would be-Will I end up being known as the daughter of beggars,Or the one who finally freed them? Tonight I’m letting all my deliberately forgotten traumaResurface and remind me how wretched my life really was,Remembering all the houses we moved intoWhere money was a ghost:Never seen long enough to…
Blue
It’s blue again. Blue like the early mornings in rain,When the world feels kind,But not kind to you…Blue like the walls that once held laughterWhich now hold only echoes-Forgotten or unspoken things perhaps. The kind of blue that makes you realiseHow you’ve carried half-true stories,Of children who dream through broken things,Of people who built love…
What Now?
There’s no sound when love leaves.It just quietly slips out the door one night,As if it knows that its time’s up.Yet I cling on to the good parts it left,Wishing the bad parts never happened.Even with all the wisdom it shone upon me,I still keep its gifts in my cupboard-Not because I believe it’ll come…
Fried Chicken
I wanted fried chicken yesterday. Golden, crisp, a little greasy, something I could sink my teeth into and feel entirely alive for a few minutes. Although, I’m not exactly at that sweet spot of financial freedom to even spend 200 for this little craving, when I did find it, I really really imagined the crackle…
I Might Cash My Survival One Day
I come from a middle-class familyThat still doesn’t have a dining table.Sure, we have tables where we can eat-But we don’t have one of “those”, you know? My mom still cooks on a single-burner stove,Using a mini cylinder,Complaining only about how expensive it is,Not how fast it runs out. Recently, a friend showed me a…
Indifferent
I read Murakami’s Norwegian Wood yesterday, and to be honest, I didn’t get it. Usually when I finish a book, I let it sit in me for a while and I rarely search for its meaning or read reviews. But this time, I did. I found people saying that the book is essentially about two…
Luck is a Cat?
I have always been lucky-The kind that finds Wi-Fi in a desertAnd then acts surprised when it actually works.But at twenty-seven I am finally learning howLuck is a cat, not a dog.It comes when you act like you are busy And leaves the second you sound desperate.It gives you the slow blink of approvalThen knocks…
Grey
I always think in grey, not in black and whites.I’m the kind who overthinks the silence,Who rewinds the conversation twiceLooking for meaning in the way you blinked,Searching for softness in what you didn’t say.Why? Maybe it’s because I value space andGive time only to wait longer than I should.I tell myself people are just tired,Not…
On Thursdays, I Wait to Heal
I feel anxious just to step outside- The sound of the world feels too loud. It’s almost impossible to believe that I used to be an outgoing one. Four months without a job And I’m starting to forget what purpose felt like. Am I the same me that made friends in elevators, Took pride in…
When You Know, You Know.
I was listening to Lana Del Rey’s song Margaret and I burst out crying thinking about someone- how I knew he’d be my person the first time I met him and the last time I left him. Though it’s a song that celebrates love and highlights fated happily-ever-after love, it holds something entirely different for…
My Love Will Always Love You Back
Now here’s a poem for the onesI’ll love enough to let goBecause if anything were to happen to me,I don’t want grief to grow roots in your chest.Let me pass through like a wind through the trees-Let it shake you but never break you apart.You’re forbidden from carrying my ending as your burden. My rock…
Eternal Sunshine of “My” Spotless Mind
I was 19 when I first saw Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and it completely blew my mind. I loved how raw the romance was, how relatable the relationship felt, and how painfully tough it was to erase the core memories of someone you really loved. Strangely, some scenes and stills from the movie…
You Win
You’re right.It wasn’t the first time you hit me,So I shouldn’t be this traumatized, right?It was the eighth time you bruised me,And I probably should’ve known better, no?Like how your ego always justified it,How you swore you’d change but never did,And how you’ll always be the worst person I’ve ever met. You’re right.I shouldn’t be…
One More Time
“Act before it’s too late”Is what I kept telling myselfAt every opportunity I missedWithout ever weighing theReasons why I missed them.The health, the lover, the job, the family:I put every little thing into these boxes.I never once stopped to care for the real me,To simply ask myself if I was okay.A lot was going on…
Relearning
I’ve always been a writer. First, an academic one- one who loved sitting with complex ideas, turning them over, stretching them, and laying them out gently in quiet, structured paragraphs. But somewhere along the way, things changed. After my postgrad in English, I found myself in a different world entirely- writing for an Irish firm…
James Franco
James Franco has that smile-The kind that folds light into lines,A crinkling and wholesome one.Everytime I see his smile-wink,That scene from Spiderman,I always felt like his joy wasn’t just on his lips-It was written in the corners of his eyes. You have that too.Not always, not often.But when you really smiled,When something really pulled it…
This One’s for Nostalgia
What’s the oldest thing you own that you still use daily? Tucked on top of my almirah sit two humble yet precious little cane baskets. They’re woven from bamboo and I’d call them ‘old with age but rich with memory’. They are as old as I am- twenty seven years. My parents bought them and…
Death of a Fortune Teller
The night before writing this poem, I read Shelley’s “Ozymandias” and woke up with a vivid dream of a fortune teller- prompting me to pen these lines. She lived where lanterns limped through fog.Her roof: old canvas stitched with rain.She sat where smoke and silence kissed the dusk,A shawl of shadows cloaked her brittle bones.Half-buried…
Is Love My “Sunk Cost Fallacy”?
You know how they say one man’s trash is another man’s treasure? I think about that a lot these days: junk, post-fantasy, the leftovers of lives we once believed in. That’s what my experience with love feels like now. A heap of broken promises and hurtful words, sitting in the corner of my mind like…
My Jukebox of Memories
It starts so small, just a tune,A quiet hum in the afternoon.But before you know it, you’re pulled backTo a time you thought had gone away. It’s just a song, but not today-Today it’s a voice from yesterday.It carries his laugh, his touch, his face,And drags you back to that place you called home. A…
Spiders
What’s your worst fear?They ask,And I can’t say it’s this:Giving whole of my life to him;A person who felt like a storm-Wild, heavy and impossible to hold. I can’t say it’s knowing his pain or joysOr how much it meant for me to see him win.I can’t say it’s the memories-Of how he made me…
Selflessly, Yours.
There’s a kind of love I give, though I don’t know if it’s the kind anyone really notices. It’s not loud or attention-seeking, and it definitely doesn’t make me special. Honestly, I don’t think of myself as some saint or poet or even someone particularly great; I’m just… me. And somehow, this love exists in…
The Beauty of Finding Your Right Person
There’s something ineffable, almost magical, in finding the right person. It’s like walking into a room that suddenly feels warmer, cozier- where you’re greeted by a pair of eyes that light up just because you’re there. It’s the pure, unadulterated joy of someone quietly whispering through their presence, “I’m so glad you’re here.” This is…
Oh, The New Years!
What traditions have you not kept that your parents had? I know the question demands me to answer how I haven’t kept it but the truth is, I love following this… My parents have always begun the New Year with a grand feast at 12 am. Though it isn’t necessarily a healthy practice, it’s their…
Filters
Sophia sat on the edge of her bed, her phone clutched tightly in her hands. The room was dim, the only light coming from the screen reflecting on her face. She scrolled through Instagram, her thumb moving rhythmically up and down as she scanned the polished lives of others. Faces with flawless makeup, perfect angles,…
Love Songs, Time Travels and Such…
You met me at a cringe time of my lifeBut what can I say,I like to show it as it is when I’m in love.Yet when I’m alone and you’re not in my head,It’s as if I’m sitting at my life’s ending…And it gets me to ask myself:“If I could bottle a message,And toss it…
Unrequited
In all my narratives I’m the villain.And it’s always “why did I say that”Or “why didn’t I say anything”.Nothing else.Feels like holding me accountable is all I’ve ever known.I’m an anomaly.No, really.In this world of everyone focusing on themselves,I’m the exception.When someone shows their true colours,All I still do is see the bigger picture-Them on…
Dreaming a Dream Till It’s Not Just That- A Dream
One midnight I dream a dream:I see us side by sideOn your childhood bed by the windowAnd it’s raining.You’re tired and fast asleep But you’ve still got your arm under my neck,Wrapping me closer to your chest.You mumble in your sleep and sometimesYou just unknowingly kiss my face Like how you always do When you’re…
Change: Not For Me But Yourself.
I wonder if you even know this blog’s name:This place where my heart’s out on display.I don’t honestly know If you ever cared for the things I care.But I do see how you’ve beenTaking me and my words for granted.You consistently tell me I’m “super”But why don’t I ever feel that way?Why must I write…
You. Randomly Calling Me?
I occasionally miss you too,But it’s just a fleeting feeling.It’s true, I call out your name on a whim.But beyond that, there’s nothing more…Just a foible of a memory. There’s no longing, no ache in my heart.I’ve got no desire for a brand new catch-up.No more “I miss you as my friend”,For our time has…
First Priority
I’ve never had anyone put me firstAs much as I put them.I know it’s not a tab-keeping game,But sometimes my heart just wants to rant. At times it wants to scream:Louder in a shrill tone that’ll scare you-Angrier than the angriest you’ve ever seen me,Reminding you why ignoring me isn’t allowed. I know that it…
Unanswered Hankering
My mind can be so cruel to myselfYet so kind to others.I would do anything to changeThe way my brain thinks. The more I learn about the world,The less I understand why I exist.This burning sensation in me never stops-I am scared this is all I’ll ever be. I don’t blame you but Sometimes I…
Love’s Labour’s Lost
Note: This is an old poem, written circa 2019, during a breakup. I never got the chance to know you.Couldn’t meet the real and complete you.So I fell in love with the idea of you. Even in my depths of despair,I honestly kept longing for a feelingOf being truly wanted by you. I kept wondering…
Pain
I don’t know what I’m afraid of:Seeing you again or not seeing you again.I remember letting you go onceWith all my sorrow and much agony.I felt peace not knowing your whereaboutsFor you were to be left in my past.But it’s been months nowAnd memories are mean little things.They bring back the days I’d rather forgetThan…
Abbattoir of Memories
Up until yesterday I thoughtThe strength to move on was a skill,That choosing freedom from the past was a talentFor memories are tougher to negotiate with.My every single step closer to healing results inFour steps backwards on my memory lane-Aloof, alone and angry are what I’ve been.It never dawned on me howWe are unreliable narrators…
2021
2021 was a rollercoaster,For my battery was at an all time low. Health scares became a common sceneYet family somehow kept me sane. Even when riches ran far from us,Wonders happened that kept me alive. Love stayed strong and loved me so good,Even when it got painfully morbid.I constantly pushed all of Love’s buttons,Expecting a…
To The Boy I Miss
I remember the day whenWe just looked into each other.You bought me a pair of boots And we spoke nothing else.We looked at each other and smiled.For we knew.We knew what we wanted to say.But our eyes had already spoken. Between the silence and our smiles,We really did try syncing our lives. There are days…
Tradition
Since the beginning, my family has had this tradition of buying clothes only on birthdays and on Onam. One reason for sticking with it was my dad’s job and his yearly transfers. Two dresses per person per year meant less luggage for every house shifting. 🤭 Now, most of my friends know my tale of…
Decampment
As strange as it seems as none feels any stranger, My muse with the hands that controlled, Has left me. He’s got too many to keep in check, Too many to rip away and too many to Burden with convoluted feelings. Though this eerie was oft foretold By many and almost everyone I knew, It…
Defunct
To be read as spoken poetry I wonder if he knows that I passed by his home today,That I saw someone or maybe two by his doorstep.I wish I could conclusively say I saw him,But it’s been years and his face is now an apparition.Days ago I did something I’m really not proud of.I pulled…
Consternation
This is unimportant butLately I’ve been so anxious-Of work, life and people.I wonder if someone reads it off my face,If I’m doing a good job hiding itBut who really notices my face? As luck kept shining a tad too muchEverything always came easy-No tolls paid or any well plunged.Being the lost wanderer who tastedJust the…
Auxesis
As a kid, I used to paint remarkably well; though it feels more like an exaggeration by the current standards, rather than a boast, in my kid standards, I certainly was something. I always felt like I inherited my artsy genes from my Mom; she had a bundle of papers with monochromatic sketches, colourful paintings…
To the one who sends letters…
A tap away, a touch away and maybe a swipe awayYet she writes letters to the ones she’s close.To people who view statuses, she’s someone who inditesBut to the ones she meekly writes,See her as a bundle of cheery alphabetsThat they never saw coming. I’ve dismissed calls and I’vePretended to be busy with all the…
Sickness
When in sickness, we see faces – faces from our past selves that were sick; faces that would’ve passed right through turbid turbulence no one could’ve comprehended. All of my faces, those faces, now add up to a single self, a person who no longer yearns for a bright future like it once did. Maybe,…
Men of my life
As I was listening to a professor’s class the other day, a series of memories happened to pass through my mind. Of course, they might not be as dreadful as you pictured it to be or maybe, you’re a strong survivor who has crossed one or various similar dreadful experiences in the past that you…
The Happy Couple Next to Us
The train stopped at Yeshwantpur. An old couple carrying two small bags entered our compartment. They were well educated and civil, spoke very gently to everyone around them. By the looks, they appeared to be visiting their relatives. Though we expected them to ask us, a bunch of loud adults, to shush and my friend…
Effacement
Let’s be oblivion to the obvious and Disregard this parallel that can meet. Our insecurity forbids What I crave. Though I did see it in your eyes some long hour, You now forbear every trace. Words appear to fail me, The right words no longer sound right. Nothing helps this mess, Reconciling my peace seems…
Stranger
Picture yourself talking to a stranger – not a regular stranger who you really don’t know but a person who you know, who in spite of being an acquaintance is still a stranger. Now imagine yourself steering a conversation with them. It’s not simple to even imagine, isn’t it? Had that person been a real…
The “L words”
“I think I like you.” “I know Zara…” “I knew you’d know…” “Where are you right now?” “At home.” “Can we just go for a ride?” “Right now?” “Can we go?” “Umm yeah but where?” “Do you have money?” “Yeah… have some bucks. Why?” “Let’s buy beer or something.” “Yeah okay but when will I…
A Midnight Curiosity
The first time the doctor told Sheila that she’s got only three more years to live if the surgery failed, she didn’t panic. She said, “Three years is a long time doctor. I wish the operation fails. After all, what can someone like me want with this life?” Her tone was so pessimistic that the…
Affection
“NAINA…!” Laxmi shouted as Naina entered. “I’m really sorry Ma. I haaad to go and…” “Where the hell were you all this while?” “Didn’t I tell you that I was planning to go shopping today with Payal?” “Oye-hoye what to do of this girl! She keeps on sneaking out of the house and then comes…
Single
“Why him?” “I don’t know. He didn’t feel right but seemed like he was the one person I was longing for.” “What was he like? If you’re still under his spell, then he might have really been someone…” “He loves the idea of being in love, but also worries that he’ll never find the kind…
Conformable
There are some people whom you would’ve known for quite some years now, who used to be above an acquaintance, whom you previously used to classify as just-friends. These people, particularly this one person, would’ve never really interacted, talked or spent time with you, not at all in the depth you wished or wanted. You…
Disorder
From strangers to lovers to strangers again, they saw the fine line that defined everything; love, sorrow and what not. Ask them what went wrong, why they drifted apart, both of them, will stand blank though they know the answer. I often used to look up to them and now, all I do is stare…
Stars, dreams and people
Some people are like dreams and some dreams are like stars. They appear when it’s dark and lonely and remove that mundanity from your life. They shine so bright that you can’t sleep a single night without contemplating their beauty. They enchant your life so much that your broken heart eventually decides to piece itself…
Feminine
I am that twisted person you dislike, That enchanted soul you fell for. Bearer of an underrated corporal, Beauty doesn’t make much gleam. My stare is powerful for the reasons I look, Yet delicate to hearts that render love. My acrimonious speech undoubtedly slices you Whilst being ardent to a few. Every strong portrait once…
Unusual
“Say something.” “Say what?” “Something, anything and everything.” My friends and I were chilling out in our compartment after having our breakfast. As the train stopped at some station, a family of four entered and sat near our seat. I don’t know what urged me to turn and look at the family but as soon…
Ambitions
A poem I wrote when I was in my 7th grade 🙈 Parents are our visible gods Who created us and our initial dreams! They were the ones Who named us and our future.. Some told their children will become doctors While some believed engineering will do! Some wanted us to touch success While some…
Tomorrow
“Dhruv, how are you feeling?” “I am feeling great Doctor! I guess I am doing pretty well for a third stage cancer patient..” he laughs. “I… don’t know what to say..” Doctor had tears in her eyes. “Doctor, will you answer something honestly to me?” “Yes. Go on..” “Will you miss me when I’m gone?”…
Future’s knock
Shattered I once stood staring the dark Disappointment often hung round my neck Capoverso of my life itself was mistake Trouble was born with me and it often Accompanied as something I never could resent.. Perhaps burden was the label that others gave me! Back then the road ahead seemed so blur With insecure thoughts…
Akshitha’s Candy
“Sir try Akshitha’s Candy. It’s sugar free and..” “Sugar free candy? Haha! Who are you trying to fool?” “Pardon me Sir but sugar free doesn’t mean that it isn’t sweet. It means that the sugar used will not bother any diabetic patient. Try one Sir..” “Just go!” “Sir, Sir… Can I get a glass of…
Dream
I too have a dream Arising from my conflicting mind Out of all the conscience I possess, It stands bright and vivid… I do not know what nourishes it As I haven’t added a pinch of manure! A positive vibe surrounds me When thoughts about it surface my brain Stranger I feel as days pass…
Assurance
She woke up from her sleep. She rubbed her teary eyes and glanced at her phone. The time was around 12 am. He still was her phone’s wallpaper Her heart questioned herself furiously and she became numb. She stood still staring at the washroom mirror. Tears rolled down all the way, wetting her pimple covered…
Saharsh and Aditi
“You should wait till I get all the stuff. Okay?” “Where’s your Iphone Ma?” We were at the supermarket. Saharsh stood near me and continued playing with my brand new phone. A sweet little girl, about Saharsh’s age, came running towards us. She asked me to help her pick the Chocos pack from the top…
Confidence
If you think you can, then you can If you think you can’t, better not dare… It’s within you that makes you feel And judge yourself above or below those Who have what you once had More than anyone in this whole wide world… If you like to win but aren’t winning For you think…
The Preserved Nixie 