B e n e a t h

Home > Other > B e n e a t h > Page 3
B e n e a t h Page 3

by Arunima Mehrotra


  tell me dear,

  would you

  speak the words

  you say today?

  those harsh cruel 

  words, raw with

  hatred and envy

  ripping open on your

  skin.

  those words

  lazily thrown

  in every direction.

  oh what a pretty

  mess you are today.

  every word

  you said,

  written 

  on your face,

  those dirty ugly

  unpleasant words

  determining 

  your crude 

  character.

  is the words

  you speak 

  who you are?

  oh, you will 

  be when this

  fortunate fate

  is thrusted

  upon you.

  so tell me 

  would you speak

  today?

  or leave your 

  skin unattended

  with words?

  oh i will

  fill them up

  with pretty things,

  with flowers and

  sunshine

  and pry open

  the butterflies

  inside me.

  for even if 

  every word you

  say today 

  might not be 

  imprinted on your

  hands,

  but surely it

  gets engraved 

  in my heart.

 

 

  Pyrophoric

  she shines

  so brightly,

  that she

  hurts others…

  and so they 

  burn,

  with envy.

  her hair,

  a stream of

  shadow

  flowing down her

  muscular

  shoulders;

  her eyes,

  a magical

  story untold

  and unheard;

  her lips,

  always sealed

  shut;

  and her face,

  always 

  clouded with

  mystery.

  people are 

  afraid

  of her,

  and she loves

  it. 

  her strength

  was never

  shown,

  only felt…

  for there are some

  things like 

  power, fear,

  and love

  that cannot 

  be said about,

  only felt.

  and every 

  night she would

  climb the

  high hill

  and feed

  the cats with

  milk and 

  biscuits.

  people only

  see those things,

  which they want

  to.

  which is why 

  in her they saw

  madness and 

  cold winter ice; 

  whereas, she only 

  saw stars and

  trees.

  in such a huge

  universe,

  where, darling,

  you live for only

  a fraction

  of the time…

  there is no 

  one else you 

  should rather 

  please than

  …yourself.

  and maybe,

  that is why

  instead of looking

  at faults and

  hatred,

  she only looked

  at everything

  pretty and 

  crooked,

  to please herself.

  and that is

  life,

  not everyone

  is going to

  love “you”,

  but you,

  you have to 

  love yourself,

  because the only

  person you spend 

  your whole life 

  with is you.

  and that’s what matters.

 

  Fate

  two roads

  branching out

  streaming out

  thoroughly 

  towards their own 

  direction

  destination.

  they never meet,

  now do they?

  once separated

  they go their 

  own way,

  that's the beauty in

  separation.

  but what if they

  do meet?

  they merge again,

  blending into

  each other

  fascinating

  and a miracle.

  finding each other

  again at

  some point 

  of time,

  even though

  what they have 

  gone through

  might have been

  hard, forgetful

  but if they

  bend towards 

  one another,

  a mesmerising

  reconciliation.

  they might

  bend away

  again,

  or bend together

  again.

  nothing,

  nothing is 

  going to stop

  those who

  are going,

  from going,

  away.

  when they go,

  they just

  go.

  but oh,

  nothing is 

  going to 

  stop you from

  winning them

  back.

  you never know,

  just when they

  might come back,

  bending around

  the corner

  to merge 

  with you 

  again;

  merrily.

  Wondering 

  a lone red

  flower

  a plastic water

  bottle lying on

  the table

  a pair of old

  slippers

  and his spectacles

  on the rough

  bridge of

  his long nose.

  he lies on the 

  bed with his legs

  safely tucked in

  and his breath 

  comes in heavy blows.

  his skin is lined with

  veins branching 

  out like a archaic 

  tree, older than

  he is.

  and his diluted eyes

  in a place far away

  from his earthly 

  ground.

  folded wrinkles

  of sadness and grief

  lined beside his 

  experience ridden

  eyes,

  and thin lines

  of faded laughter,

  of a smile long lost.

  even in this cozy

  home, 

  he wears a ragged

  old sweater 

  with patches of 

  untidy work

  covering it,

  he wears it as

  a proud medal.

  looking outside

  at the clear blue 

  sky with little

  birds flying merrily,

  he is lost.

  why, he wonders,

  is he left alone

  in a place so

  sad?

  and why, he wonders,

  did she leave him here

  alone?

  she is up 

  somewhere,

  her vanished

  hand seeking his.

  and why, he wonders,

  did he ever believe


  in the word

  called ‘family’, 

  when it was never 

  really one?

  and why, he wonders,

  did he did such things

  that were useless

  and cruel and selfish 

  when now there was

  no ‘self’ to be now.

  and why, he wonders,

  is he still here, when

  he should in reality,

  be there?

   

  She is.

  she is my

  better half

  or maybe even

  whole of me.

  and her smile

  makes my day

  just as fast 

  as her tears unmake 

  it.

  we laugh,

  we smile,

  just like

  we cry,

  we grieve,

  just like

  we fight .

  but the best part

  the thing that

  binds us 

  together,

  is that she

  understands me

  more that i do 

  myself

  and i wish to 

  comfort her

  more than she

  can.

  to be a 

  helping hand

  and her

  reason for smile. 

  to be a person

  she can hold

  onto when she

  smile.

  and even

  while preparing 

  to say goodbye,

  i wish to say to

  her

  that ‘goodbye’ is just

  a word,

  and we, sweetheart,

  are more than that.

  Tell me, did you think of someone?

  Under the Bed

  under the 

  bed

  under her

  head

  is darkness

  floating up

  in tendrils

  coldly

  wrapping up

  the bed

  frame and

  the back of her eyes.

  do not

  definitely

  do not look

  down honey,

  for where there

  is dark 

  perishes the 

  light.

  she trembles

  and shivers

  her shoulders hunched

  in fear

  and her

  breath hollow

  with 

  nightmares.

  her sweat drips

  down her lips

  and she tastes it;

  salty.

  her bed

  she is afraid

  is too small.

  and scratching up

  the base 

  is bewitched claws

  of some deity.

  her teddy falls

  its leg squatting

  in an awkward

  position.

  stifled with fear,

  she gasps.

  small breaths

  huge fears.

  slowly she

  slips out

  of the 

  cool bedsheet

  and her legs on the 

  cold floor

  are trembling.

  her pale

  nightgown feels

  too thin,

  and her 

  body

  too frail.

  she bends down

  her hand 

  familiar

  with the

  soft hair

  of the childhood 

  friend.

  a gloomy

  tendril making its

  way towards her

  bare ankle.

  she freezes

  like a terrified rabbit.

  and in a brilliant

  burst of 

  white angelic light

  and pale pink shade 

  of sparks

  her eyes flew 

  open with

  stupefying wonder.

  under the bed

  light shining out

  of it,

  like sunlight

  filtering from

  white clouds,

  was something.

  curious,

  terrified,

  exiting,

  wide awake,

  she crawled

  under her bed.

  oh and

  what could not

  be said

  was felt

  as that

  brave heart

  explored

  a world, bright

  and new.

  a monster

  stared back 

  at her.

  she was not

  scared anymore,

  as he held out his

  huge hand.

  he smiled

  and so did 

  she.

  this was no monster.

  most people

  really aren’t

  when you

  hold out

  your hand

  to them.

  and now 

  did she get it.

  you do need a 

  little 

  darkness

  to burn brighter.

  Her eyes sparkled.

    

 

  Silence Speaks

  how many times did you

  speak today ?

  you open your pretty 

  little mouth

  and words tumble out. 

  a beautiful mess

  i agree;

  but not enough.

  not enough at all.

  your delightfully

  chaotic thoughts

  inside that

  invincible place

  called mind,

  smothered with love

  and anger and 

  fear

  come out blurred

  and disoriented.

  put a finger on your 

  mouth.

  i ask you to

  do not speak.

  Silence speaks

  Magnificently louder

  Than words,

  Do they not?

  these thoughts that

  lie in your

  mind… do not

  let them be turned into

  words.

  they mean so much

  more

  than what you say.

  you say you are

  happy;

  but you are in 

  euphoria.

  you say you are

  sad;

  but you are

  grieving. 

  you say you are 

  angry;

  but, sweetheart, i know

  that you are enraged.

  do not let they 

  insolent words 

  dirty your pure

  innocent

  thoughts.

  there is no word made 

  to tell you

  how i feel.

  and so i must

  remain quiet.

  the beauty in

  the unspoken

  bursts out

  brighter

  that the 

  sweetest voice.

  look,

  at me

  and convey

  and i will listen

  attentively.

  no need for 

  these middle

  way conversations 

  darling,

  when our

  minds can talk

  without talking.

  just, for once, let

  me hear you speak.

  just carry out

  this bitter sweet sin

  and say 

  ‘yes’.

  Morning House

  breakfast mornings

&n
bsp; with warm bright

  sunshine

  and pretty little

  plants

  lightening up

  the kitchen table

  and a red kettle

  whistling away.

  the cream chair

  a blue towel

  hanging from it

  and an untidy

  sink

  filled with dishes

  up to the brim

  a background

  of a very blue sky

  sunny side up eggs

  smiling up at me

  and a warm coffee

  steaming up.

  all these colours

  these beautiful colours

  fade away

  in front of

  my mothers smile.

  And that is how i like to wake up.

 

  Ambiguous

  Fog resides

 

‹ Prev