Poetry

By Lydia Lim on the old grass field, we sit back,  leaning on our hands and watching  the sky turn black. it’s oddly quiet, until a group of old men in the apartment complex opposite starts singing karaoke off-tune. we exchange glances and anticipate what we know we’re about to do. the racket we produce is loud and exuberant but there’s nobody telling us to quieten down, no more teachers calling one silent clap!  or asking if we’re in a fish market. we are. there’s only  so m

By Lydia Lim Slurp carbonara in an Italian restaurant,  Snow falling outside like grated Parmesan drifting onto soft pasta.  This moment is all you’ve ever Waited for, grasp onto it with the Strength it takes to clutch a fork and Stab caramelised bacon through  A prong. The coffee rings sharp and Bitter. You drink it black and almost Scald your tongue, but the warmth Jolts through your body and gulps The wind dry. When you lean back Against the booth, your plate is Scraped cl

By Lydia Lim biting through the cotton and  drawing blood. red light, baby, it's a  red flag; he's a hit-and-run guy with  bright lights in his mind, drunk on  love lost and lost liquor, sipping  whiskey with the breath of a faded out flame, blanching blasphemy  while taut, and weightless, lifting  luck through a sieve. red blood, baby, it's  a brutal scene. don't you ever  stop, and think? you can't grow up if  you continue clutching onto  youth, straining at the seams. so s

By Barleen Kaur Ishq ki berehami, Duniya mein laakhon se pucho. Dil kis hadd takk dukha hai, In aankho se pucho. Seh paaye toh jee kr dikhaayenge, Kis hadd takk mar rahe hain, Jazbaat ke janaazo se pucho. Kitni gehri chot hai, Dil ke ehsaaso se pucho. Kis hadd takk dard mila hai dil ko, Jhoothi khushi ke libaazo se pucho. Woh maangta toh jaan bhi de dete; Lekin kis kadar jaan li usne, Murjhaaye huye gulaabo se pucho.  By Barleen Kaur

By Barleen Kaur Ek gwaale se hamein mohabbat hogyi hai! Ab is masle ka hal kya ho? Is marz ki ab dawaa kya ho; Mere haq mein ab dua kya ho. Ankhein bnd bhi kru toh vahi nazar aye, Aisi mohabbat ke saamne khuda kya ho. Us se nibha lein aisi wafa kya ho; Prem dor se use baandh lein, Toh btaao woh khafa kya ho? Uski razaa se bdi ab razaa kya ho, Uske bina jeene ka mzaa kya ho. Maut toh mukammal hai magar, Uske viraah se bdi sza kya ho! By Barleen Kaur

By Barleen Kaur Mere gunaaho ki na sazaa bn ke aana, Tum aaoge toh in zakhmo ki dawaa bn ke aana.  Bohat dekhe hain insaan ke libaas mein haiwaan maine, Tum aaoge toh Khuda bn ke aana. Nhi chahiye yeh chaand taare mujhe, Tum aaoge toh bs wafaa bn ke aana. Itni buri bhi nhi, dil se achi hu main, Tum aaoge toh in sb baato ka gawaah bn ke aana. Nhi chahiye kuch bhi jo mera na ho, Tum aaoge toh us rab ki razaa bn ke aana. Bohat marte honge log ek doosre par, Tum aaoge toh jeene k

By Barleen Kaur Maine suna hai Ishq shaayar ko maar deta hai, Toh btao kya mai bhi tyaari rakhu? Ishq ki hr cheez hi naayaab hai, Kis cheez ko jaan se pyaari rakhu? Ishq se badi koi saugaat nhi mili, Dil ke taraazu mein kise ishq se bhaari rakhu? Ishq toh bs ishq hai na; toh haar jeet kaisi, Ishq se jeet jau, ya khud ko haari rakhu? Ishq toh duniya bhi bhula deta hai, Toh tujhe bhool jau ya teri yaad dulaari rakhu? Lgta hai ishq ki baazi haar gyi hu mai, Toh kya ab khud ka na

By Riddhi Kundu How can I resist beauty of friendship, When it beams the soul rejoices, Over the acts of love, generosity and mercy, The acts of triumph of echo melodies, Of delight that ushers the sunlight to devastating heavens tears. Since 80 years of unwavering and enduring friendship between Tom and Jerry, Who might tease each other or not greet each other with sweet colours, Sometimes they don’t cherish the enduring merry, But they can’t live without each other. To care

By Riddhi Kundu History’s rolling, let’s dive in deep, From the Big Bang boom to the printing press leap. Slavery ended, farmhand took the lead, Industrial Revolution, a new world indeed. Women fought for votes, civil rights planted the seed. Penicillin discovered and healed the pain, WW2 ended, peace broke the chain. Galileo, Newton, Einstein, genius combined, Then came the ‘90s, the internet redefined. India divided, but freedom found it’s way, UAE rose strong, in ’71 they

By Riddhi Kundu In Little Kilton, five years ago, Andie Bell vanished, no one would know. Sal Singh blamed, then found dead too, The case was closed, but something felt untrue. Pip chose the case for her school report, She knew Sal’s side was never in court. She asked tough questions, followed each clue, Seeking the truth no one else knew. Andie had secrets, life full of lies, Mr. Ward had tricks in disguise. Howie, the dealer, did something unforgivable one night, But it was

By Riddhi Kundu The warning signals sounded so loud and clear to hear, The government sends a word of emerging fear, Angered clouds proceed across the dark sky, That ruins our lives with a big sigh. Teardrops that appear from the heavens, That floods the land with gloomy expressions, Causing havoc and mayhem, Singing a blue and chaotic anthem. Schools switched to remote learning, Offices implemented Work from Home, Pupils, teachers, and employees embraced the quick change, Sl

By Bilal Salman Ahmad You are not the sunrise, because even the sunrise envies how softly you arrive. You’re the reason shadows lean toward light, like even the dark can’t help but follow you. You’re not a flower — flowers wither; petals fade. You’re the whole meadow, the hidden field where seasons go to rest, and I could walk a lifetime without tiring of your colours. Your laughter isn’t sound, it’s the way sparrows practice flight. It’s a string of bells on a child’s wrist,

By Bilal Salman Ahmad I’ll be the one who stays ‘til the end, your lover, your anchor, your dearest friend. I’ll be the one who bends, who grows, who plants a garden of roses just so you know — love doesn’t wither, even when the curtain closes. But tell me — will you still hold me near, when silence grows louder year by year? When my memory frays like an old, soft seam, and I forget the faces that filled my dream? When I turn eighty-one and the world feels dim, will you still

By Bilal Salman Ahmad You are not just a person, you’re why poems exist, the secret in the sky’s blue, the sunlight I missed. The reason flowers bloom even when winters bite, the whisper from God that says, “Let there be light.” When you enter a room, everything starts to glow, the air turns to velvet; time softens its flow. Even silence grows gentle, the walls learn to sigh, because love has arrived, and it’s you passing by. Your voice is warm tea on a cold, weary dawn, hone

By Bilal Salman Ahmad There’s a sweetness in waiting, A quiet kind of grace— To hold you gently in my thoughts, And never ask for space. You live inside a softer world, Where silence doesn’t ache. Where smiles don’t vanish into dust, And hearts don’t ever break. I place you on a little shelf, Not far, not out of sight— Just close enough to talk to When I’m alone at night. You never hurt me there, you see, You’re always kind and warm. You never drift or disappoint, You never l

By Bilal Salman Ahmad The sea remembers every stone it swallows, yet it forgets me. I carve your name into the sand, but by morning, even the shoreline denies us. How strange, to love someone and find the ocean more faithful than they are. The moon whispers across the tide, pulling me forward, but when I reach, my hands close on emptiness. Salt burns my lips; I taste grief as if it were wine. I have learned that longing is a body holding its breath forever, waiting for the wa

By Bilal Salman Ahmad You never hold my gaze too long, like my eyes are the sun and yours are too shy to stare. But the truth? You glow brighter than any sun I’ve ever seen, and it’s me who can’t look away. When I catch you, you laugh nervously, your cheeks light up, and suddenly the room feels warmer. You turn your head quick— lashes dropping like curtains— as if you could hide what I’ve already seen a hundred times. Because love, I see it. That spark you try so hard to bury

By Bilal Salman Ahmad You are the cut that always bleeds, the wound I press, yet never treat. And though the sting brings me to my knees, I whisper, don’t stop, for you are the ache I need. You are the air I drag through broken lungs, the song I hum though it burns my tongue. Without you, silence swallows me whole— with you, even pain feels like control. I need you more than I need myself, more than books that gather dust on shelves. More than the sun needs the sky at dawn, m

By Bilal Salman Ahmad I’ve watched you from a quiet place,  Lost in the depths of your timeless gaze.  Eyes like oceans, vast and wide,  Carrying storms that you try to hide.  A city burns within your stare,  Ashes of stories you used to bear.  Your gaze ignites, it tears, it drowns,  And yet, I’m lost in the pull that surrounds.  It’s unfair how you break my will,  How a glance can wound, yet thrill.  I’ve never fallen from heights so steep,  But your ocean eyes drag me deep

By Bilal Salman Ahmad Your eyes aren’t just green— they’re entire worlds I fall into, meadows after rain, forests that breathe life back into me, rivers that carry me home when I’ve been lost too long. They are the shade of leaves kissed by spring, the promise of growth in everything. They hold my tomorrow, my hopes, my plans, the softest future resting in your hands. When I look at you, I don’t just see— I live in the color staring back at me. Two emerald lanterns that light