Sleepless nights, baggy eyes
Head-ache, sleep deprived
Another day and every other night.

Empty brain, filled mind,
Hollow heart, beats fast.
Shaky hands, tired arms,
Haunted, lives in the past

While you are grieving your life,
Someone grieved their loved one, gone too soon.
While you are crying over your mere existence,
Someone is fighting death, waiting for a boon.

While you lament the things you did and the mistakes you made,
Someone is wishing to have the opportunities of messing up the way you do.
While you mourn what life could have been,
Someone is longing for more time to be true.

While you crib about the friendships and relationships lost,
Someone is waiting to hold their loved one in a hospital hall;
Against the cold and trembling wall,
They whisper silent prayers, giving their all.

As you sob over another day not lived well, questing your mere existence,
Know that someone, somewhere, wants to trade places with you this instance.

You loved me from the bottom of your heart,
And yet we were always apart.

It’s one of those days again, accompanied by a dull ache,
Where even walking, even rising from bed, feels like a task.
My eyes stare blankly at the walls — life is wuthering,
But I make it a point to wear a mask.

This mask tries to obscure the pain within,
But we all know it’s a sham — the ones who matter can see it all.
They try to cheer me, say, “Get busy,”
But how to explain? Busyness cannot solve it at all.

Once there was a girl
Who was as beautiful as a shining pearl.

She was her father’s princess,
And for her mother, an ocean of happiness.

Her angelic smile was contagious.
Amidst her laughter and giggles, she was a genius.

She would paint and play all day—
“A chirpy little girl,” they would say.

One day, suddenly, her life changed;
A storm came by, unexplained.

She stood there strong at the age of seven,
When people her age live in heaven.

The storm went by after a year,
and left her shattered in tears.

Her mind was flooded with memories that were bad;
She ceased to smile, as she was sad.

The misery did not end there—
Another storm could be sensed in the air.

She endured that too, silently;
Her mind was left with another bad memory.

The storms ceased to leave her,
And the memories became even more bitter.

But she managed it all so well—
No one knew she was living in hell.

But one day, she could take it no longer.
She decided to give up, not knowing she was stronger.

She now turned to medication and pills,
because she could no longer deal with the ills.

Suddenly, on her darkest night,
She found her brightest light.

What brought in the brightest light?
The realisation that she could fight.

The perils of the past etch your spirit,
Darkness banks on them for its untimely visits.

You try to fight them again and again and again,
But some days, your efforts end in more pain.

These unexpected visits often keep you in a hollow place,
Where joy feels distant and hope is hard to chase.

Yet these visits are often what lead to liberation,
For pain paves the way to light — and the soul’s elation.

Just get through today, take it day by day,
And trust — it will be alright, soon, come what may.

Our worlds are not the same
You are preparing for a role, and I try to show up for life.
You want to change the country and make it a better place,
And I strive to find peace and live another day.

You want the respect, the prestige, the satisfaction of doing it all.
I just want to exist and breathe without giving up once and for all.
You’ve had a goal since you were nine, a vision etched in your mind.
I still don’t know what I want or how to truly grind.

You are the golden child, and I, the black sheep.
You did everything right, and I… ever do anything right?
You got the sought-after degree from the most difficult college to get into.
I, too, went to a sought-after college, but not a sought-after degree.

You’ve proved your mettle more than once.
I’ve never had a chance — nor did I want one.
You plan your whole career in advance.
I go with the everyday ebb and flow of life.

You are the calm, chill guy with a great social life.
I am the sometimes anxious, often flustered girl with hardly any friends.
You are the light of the party, and I, somewhere in the shadows.
Yet our worlds met and collided.

You chose to see the me I hardly saw,
Believed in me when no one did — not even I.
You saw the light that I never could,
And were there on days no one else was.

You were literally there for me on my darkest nights,
My knight in shining armor, bringing in some light.
You kept me from consuming myself and believed in me
When hardly anyone ever saw any glee.

You brought out a side of me I never knew existed.
It was like a Wattpad story — just a little twisted.
For it ended sooner than it lasted,
For you left, long before I wanted.

Those days, I used to think you were replaceable.
But how can someone ever replace a part of my soul?
A place that you’ve taken — and is yours.
It will always be yours, whether you like it or not.

How do I tell my heart a different tale
When it’s already accepted you in every part of the sail?
How do I replace my anchor — and where do I find one —
When you chase your dreams, and I try finding mine?

Why are things not different?
Why are you not in my life —
The way I wanted, the way you promised?
Because I need you more, now that I am my calmest.

The sky had been cloudy for the longest time,
Hope often bleak, fun almost nil, all during my prime.
But now it seems the skies are clearing up slowly,
Bright rays of sun seeping in amidst the folie.
Like the first flake of snow melting after a freezing winter,
Like a widow's smile, years after the inter.
The sensation of light is unfamiliar on my skin,
Like a warm embrace that once had been.
I see the chirping birds and the pretty butterflies,
For where once there was a frown, now a genuine smile lies.
The clouds haven’t vanished; they still softly loom,
But a little ray of hope waits beyond the gloom.
The moment I let that ray touch me, enter my soul,
I know things are changing—and this time, it's whole.

I live in a house, not a home.
Some people are not bound by love, but a mere genome.
They have no one to talk to, pour their heart to—
They live a lonely life, surrounded by all.

Money can't buy everything; it can't buy you love, care, and concern. Some of us have it all, and yet we mourn.
We mourn knowing that we have what a common man wants—
We live with the guilt and burden of supposedly having it all.

Our big houses are etched with intense loneliness and ghosts of the past.
Cry in the dark, but don't you dare talk or broadcast.
These pretty walls hide dark secrets—
Secrets that get lost in the money and fame game.

Some of us maybe don’t crave a rupee as much as we crave a hug.
Silence becomes our best friend, and misery a drug.
Will the affection I seek ever find my street?
We live with this plight, and nobody knows.
For if you have some laurels in your kitty, does it really matter?

A smile that was once there,
Now, a lonely heart beyond repair.

I get to go to school and pursue my education, you don't.
I get to wear the clothes of my choice and dance if I want, you don't.
I get to do what I like, and to live my day as per my will, you don't.
I have all the freedom a soul could ask for and want, you don't.

I can choose the masters I want to pursue, you can't.
I can walk freely on the streets and drive the car, you can't.
I can choose to work and bring home money, you can't.
I can express my thoughts freely with my name under, you can't.

I wish things were different, and I am sorry they are not.
I wish you had everything that I do and more, and I am sorry you don't.
I wish that the world were a better place for you, and I am sorry it is not.
I wish I could do something to help, but I don't know what.

I am writing this ode to let you know I see you, I see your strength.
I am writing this ode to let you know I revere your resilience.
I am writing this ode to let you know I look up to your perseverance.
I am writing this ode to let you know I pray for you from the bottom of my heart.

Till then, I will write for you,  
For I do believe my pen is mightier than the sword.
The sword of the system and the world that failed you,
And I want you to know, my dear sister, I see you.