Beauty and The Beast.

By Swastik Shekhar Sarkar

It would've been easy

To end everything,

Had I not met you.

Their expectations, Their attachments,

I had endured enough to leave behind them all,

Until you tucked your head in my chest,

And clenched my shirt all night long.

I hope you didn't realize

How I kept my chin on your head then,

And wept out of helplessness

After you fell asleep.

There were times I felt so cold within,

I could watch the whole world burn.

But, at that very moment, 

Something would thaw in me, 

And I'd fall on my knees,

Should you lay your hand on my heart.

I'd stop myself midway in a conversation,

And ask myself, "Do they care?";

Yet, here I am, avoiding that look in your eyes,

The one that demands to know,

How I really am.

I wanted to end things,

Because to witness what I was becoming,

I knew, would shatter me.

So, please hold me close,

And preserve my heart;

For I believe that you can save,

The child within me.

By Swastik Shekhar Sarkar