I have been living with lies

Ever since I came into being.

Lies I told myself about me –

Every possible misbelief!

If I wasn’t bound in my own darkness,

I would’ve shared my deepest secret – 

That I had finally fell for the one.

It’s been eighteen years,

Since we first locked eyes.

This serendipity of universe drove me crazy – 

How a normal day in mid-April

Changed my whole life.

The sun felt so calm in that moment 

As the breeze simply kissed my cheeks.

I took a moment to capture you,

But you were ordinary – just like me!

My younger self wasn’t like those lovers in movies.

I neither spent hours thinking about him,

Nor did I ever leave a hint.

I never wanted to be chased,

I have always enjoyed the beauty of silence

Rather than a garland of words.

I didn’t hide my heart cause my love was fake,

But it was all that I had to offer.

In this world where success is the standard 

I had to prove myself first – 

So I kept it all in and hid my eyes,

For they would’ve surely revealed my fervour.

I didn’t realize how I lost you,

Maybe you didn’t wish to wait.

But I wasn’t ready to love you yet – 

No ! Not with my flaws.

After all this time,

You are still a part of my spring.

It has been eighteen years 

And I am still in love, definitely.

Aditi Singh

I haven’t lived with the same zeal with which I write. I am not good at it, but am I good at living either” Well, I am learning. To live? No, to write. I am also living to learn. To write, right ? Yes.

I am someone who has passed the age to be labelled under the Instagram trend of “teenagers scare the living s**t out of me” (insert funny emoji, cause it was funny in my head). I don’t identify as a woman or a man but someone who chose to find an escape in the realm of words cause the one sewed by reality haunted me from a very young age. I identify as a person insanely in love with the idea of poetry. I still remember my excitement to write poetry on the word “bhrashtachar” cause that was a “new- difficult” word I learnt at the age of 6 while practicing for a patriotic song. I know I am not the best in this field and I truly admire the ones better than me, but I hope (cause that’s also something that keeps me alive) that one day, someone reads my poetry and tells me how much it has changed them. I want them to tell me that it made them feel seen. 💜