The Next Time

By Mayank Gupta

O love, hug me so tight

that you choke me.

And if you take my heart

Make sure it is ripped out of my chest.

The next time you stroke my eyes-

with your soft palms-

Make sure that’s the last time

I close my eyelids.

And if you can make me fall once again

Make sure I am pushed into the grave.

The next time you give me a memory-

good or bad-

Make sure I don’t have the time

to revisit it.

And if you are wondering to slay me

Bare your soul and rob me of my body.

The next time you offer me a flower-

I will accept it-

even if it’s not a red rose

Make sure you offer it at my tombstone

And if you see my lips

saying your name with love

Do me a favour

-and make it my last word-

Hold my silence in your lips

And kiss me to the sleep of the death

-the only forever possible.

And the next time you read a poem in my ears,

Choose an elegy in my name.

By Mayank Gupta