Poetry

By Simran Malhotra Jaan toh sab nisaar kartein hain, Humaari jaan aap par kurbaan nahi, Chotti si hai humaari wafa, Poori aapke naam kar dein, inkaar toh nahi? Fariq lamhon main nahi, har mashrrofiyat mein unhe yaad karein, Jab rooh mein bas gaye ho, waqt nikaalne ki baat hi nahi Imaan-e-ishq nibhaya hai, shiddat se Iss fakiri ki raah chalne mein humein ab khauf nahi Roz junoon ka maufza bharte hai Sabr se, ab iss se bad kar junoon bhi nahi By Simran Malhotra

By Simran Malhotra Bright eyes Nervous smiles Heart racing Lightly pacing “Congratulations, you got the job” Ecstatic energy Jump with joy Years and years go by His identity is a single bright lanyard Designations change The process is still the same Swipe the card while entering Swipe the card while leaving Tired eyes Like well groomed sheep the process goes on Generation after generation Automatons He tires carrying the lanyard Which was once wispy Now weighs him down slowl

By Simran Malhotra How can I define passion - for love is red, The initial rosy chase to the call of the dove is red, Bright-eyed and foolish, playful doting conversations, The vermillion on her forehead - just above is red, She didn’t mind the occasional temper, The final shove across the trove - white marble thereof is red, Oh Sabr, how did you not see it? The hand of your beloved - nestled in a glove is red By Simran Malhotra

By Simran Malhotra “Give me poison” “Give me poison” Like a rut Behind me in a consistent manner The speaker not more than 3 years old Loud and clear Pacified by only his iPad His birth givers unperturbed Sitting and listening to this for an hour I’m massively disturbed His birth givers are now rattling a loud and annoying toy The grandmother called in for reinforcement The child in his own melody now improvising each note I’m holding back the urge to tell them - “if you can’

By Shireen Rashid it’s not a scream, it’s not a storm, it’s softer than the things they say— it’s empty chairs in crowded rooms, it’s being loved a step away. it’s watching petals fall from trees you watered when no one could see. they bloom for someone else in spring— you learn to clap silently. it’s talking like the wind does, low, your words dissolve mid-air, unheard. you write your name in cloudy glass, and time erases every word. it’s laughing late to match their beat, a

By Shireen Rashid I never held your hand, it’s true— but tell me did you feel it too? in every cheer that met your name, was there a silence that just knew ? They never saw the way I lit, each time you simply you looked alive, you didn’t have to look at me— your smile alone could make me thrive. I kept each glance you never gave, tucked in the corners of my mind, they think the stars are far away— There were no names, no claims, no signs, just shadows cast by what I feel

By Shireen Rashid they say the mind replays itself when silence starts to bite, a thousand scattered pieces stitched into a single seam, faces i loved, the wars i lost, the ones i failed to fight, echoes of every version of me that lived inside a dream. the paper cuts of lessons, the bloodied hands of sums, engines roaring louder than the doubts i never tamed, the taste of words unsaid that burn against my gums, a hunger for a moment that could never be named. there’s a shado

By Shireen Rashid they say the reel begins to spin, a final show the mind will keep, the fragments stitched of all we’ve been, before we sink into the deep. i wonder if the chalk will stain, my restless hands, the proofs half-done, equations humming through the brain that always raced but never won. perhaps the sky will split in two, a cosmos calling out my name, the stars i traced, the sums i knew, a fleeting spark i couldn’t claim. the roads will roar, the engines sing, com

By Shireen Rashid It burns, it aches, the pain I cannot erase. The smoke- it rises, blinding me, choking me, until it’s too hard to breathe. My lungs feel as a full of water, my stomach as if stabbed. A hole in my chest, as if earning to be filled, to be whole. Yet, I’ll still sail through. Through the ocean, you made me feel with my eyes I’ll climb mountains you built for me. I’ll walk on the path you choose for me. Use my dagger where you command. But still, I’

By Pragati Agrawal Built of fire Made of rage Nurtured with thunderstorms Meant to break a cage Up on a horseback Crown of iron Quiver full of arrows Aiming like a dragon Hands aligned Target locked Bowstring pulled back Arrow shot Enemy on the ground In a puddle of blood The master of arrows Won the hart of every bud This is now history Cherished by every warrior No more are there any masters For you are your own saviour By Pragati Agrawal

By Pragati Agrawal A child once heard someone say A beautiful soul gave light To the moon shining so bright Out in the dark night He thought Must be the three times all rounder Or the dancer Maybe even the singer But when none of them Could qualify But the little boy did certify And his self doubtedness did nullify So my fellow readers this day Along with following your heart Pledge to yourself That you will make more out of yourself By digging that self that you already are

By Pragati Agrawal The sky took on a cooler hue, the warmth began to fade, And silence started its low, palpitating parade. The only being by the seashore stood still and small A solitary dandelion, defying it all. A heart of rose, dainty beneath a lion’s mane, A bloom of courage, trembling in pain. Her eyes spoke in echoes of every route, Revealed the sincerity that words never could. Annihilated from within, She felt herself disintegrating Like faith collapsing, tattering t

By Shrishti Bangera Kanekal Silence, empty and yet, so full, it’s spills, pouring over the edges of sound, a silence filled with unspoken and sacred words, the constant looks of longing and desire. We sit in this silence, you and I, Hesitating, waiting, desperate for a chance to grasp at. Chance arrives—when your eyes fall onto mine. Your glance brushes my own. A spark? No—a slow, crackling flame, an echo, something more divine than words could possibly begin to describe. The

By Shrishti Bangera Kanekal I’ve always known not to trust you, your horrendous face, which imitated my own. They said it was my reflection, but I knew better━ eyes unblinking, smile lingering wrong, something hidden behind a face that surely, surely couldn’t be my own. Even now, I always try to avoid your stare. I keep mirrors closed and covered, blinding you away from me. And yet, by what could be a hex, you manage to find me, in windows and spoons, The dark gloss of a phon

By Shrishti Bangera Kanekal I turned to you as though you were my eternity, my sun, but your petals don’t fall on me. My own petals blister, golden edges curling into ash, a ring of fire with no warmth beneath. I break myself into roots for you, veins red with sacrifice, bleeding into the soil so you might rise brighter. You never see it, you call me hollow, while I am drowning you in everything I am. And you, you stare at my bowed face, see only the shadow where my love hi

By Sharon Mohan कुछ ख्याल है हमारे मन में; ख्याल --- जो कि थोड़े भारी से लगते हैं, कुछ दब्बी हुई भावनाएं है हमारे मन में; भावनाएं---जो कि जरा पाक से लगते हैं, कुछ गुजारिशे है रूह के किसी कोने में; गुज़ारिशे --- जो कि बेहद गहरे से लगता है, तेरी उस नज़र की नज़ाकत; हमारे सीने में आज भी दौड़ती है, तेरी निगाहों की शक्ल; हमारे दिल को आज भी हिफ़ाज़त महसूस कराती है, तेरी उन नैनों की गुस्ताख़ियाँ; आज भी हमारी मुस्कुराहट की वजह बनती है, तेरी नज़रो की एहतेराम से; हमारे क़ल्ब क

By Sharon Mohan मुझे वाकिफ कर दे जा; यह मन किनारा ढूंढ रहा है, तेरे दहलीज पे खड़ी सुन्नु मैं; यह दिल शरण मांग रहा है, यह रूह उद्धार मांग रहा है| उन बेड़ियो में खड़ी कैद मैं; यह आत्मा आज़ादी के लिए तरसता है, उन जजीरो के उत्पीड़न से; यह दिल मुक्ति मांग रहा है, यह रुह उध्दार मांग रहा है। उन खुले ज़ख्मो के दर्द से; यह काया दृढ़ता की कामना करता है, उस टपकती खून के पीड़ा से; यह सीना राहत मांग रहा है, यह रूह उद्धार मांग रहा है। यह मर्मव्यथा की दास्ताओं के कष्ट से; यह दिल शांति की गुज

By Sharon Mohan Those eyes yearn for a place; where her tears are counted, And her wearies rest; Where her pain is eased, And her ache is soothed; where her nerves are calmed down, And her heart bleeds no more; Those eyes crave for a place, Where her worth is much more than dust; And her words stand a chance, Where her choices matter; And her decisions remain, Where her independence is celebrated, Where her existence is considered, And her presence respected; Those eyes

By Sharon Mohan Amidst the chaos; In the dark entity of the unknown, Her heart quivers; In a strange pit of the dreaded gloom, Her mind is shaken; And consumed in; the grisly realm of the endless pit, Amidst the cheers; And the shouts of glee and laughter, Her soul gets numb; As sprinkles of harrowing trauma grip her spirit, And her brain trembles; As it is forced to recollect those, which are worse than nightmares; Which smash her inner self all over again, And send

By Sharon Mohan In the darkness of the night, She stood on the terrace; gazing at the twinkling stars, In wonder, In awe, In numbness of spirit, Her eyes weary, Her mind sore, Her soul questioning, Answers --- which she may probably never receive, And Oh, the stars; If only she could twinkle one day like them, If only she could feel the jolly sparks of life anymore, If only she could feel the soothing raindrops on her hand, As they fell tapping onto the window; If only