Grateful and Regretful Pasts

By Srishti Sachdev

In times gone by, 

I used to be tender like the petals of a flower, 

in a phase where a child hasn’t yet learned the meaning of rancor. 

And then I met someone who made me realize a flower has thorns too

And a child can someday become a she.

And when he and I were together, 

I studied him like my favourite genre 

like he was etched in every corner. 

So, I never resisted the urge to romanticize 

the hidden toxicity in his words.

There, in the hidden chambers of my heart resided a little detective 

that had commissioned my brain to collect 

and 

remember 

every single detail 

of him 

But little did I know that those memories would be out for blood,

instead of euphoria, 

they will bring me to road trips of agony.

By Srishti Sachdev