Sometimes, my cat Coco used to sleep by my side when I studied. His head would always be on my lap, and I could slightly see his tiny teeth when he sometimes let out a little sigh. He'd sleep peacefully, I'd read silently, and when it was time to get up I'd always pick his head in my palm carefully, gently putting a cushion under it. He'd keep sleeping. When I came back I'd put my lap at the exact same position as before, right under his little head. When he woke up, I'd see the glint in his eye, a gladness that I was still there, that I hadn't moved at all. And then he'd go back to slumbering in peace.

Now when I sit by his grave I wonder if he knows I'll leave sometime later, come back again, and sit exactly where I was before.

-

a giant wave of
n o s t a l g i a
hits you
crashes over you
and you drown
for a while

but you never try
to lift your head up
above the wave
because this time
you actually breathe
better
u n d e r w a t e r

-

just imagine
how the daylight
might have felt
so as to leave so quick-

when we stood
on the riverside
and nonchalantly said
that we loved the sunset more

-

MY EXAM GHAZAL

Heartbeats go haywire in this exam season
Brain cells get all pumped up this exam season.

Text books and notebooks replace thriller novels
Monotony creeps into life in this exam season.

Countdown begins a month ahead of D-day
Examinees turn zombies in this exam season.

Time seems to pass in slow motion at times,
Sometimes quick as bullet in this exam season.

Haven't you revised everything already, Arshi?
But there's just no peace of mind this exam season.

-

covered with glass.
When I look out
my reflection on the glass
shows me what's in.

-

When we looked
at faraway places,
somewhere beyond our reach
the sky was always down to earth.
We tried becoming the sky-
humble and forever infinite
but turned into the earth instead-
forever looking up to touch the infinite.

-

Where does love go when it gets lost on its way to someone's heart?

It stays stuck right there
in between this breeze and that,
hoping someday a little someone
comes hopping along
with a deflated red balloon,
takes a deep breath, inhaling
all that love stuck in mid air
and blows it into the balloon.

And when the balloon bursts
the love within slips out
to hide again, between
this breeze and that,
looking for a bigger balloon

-

'Well it's more like a shock.'
'Why?'
'I thought things were working.'
'They aren't working well enough to keep me away from you.'
'Smooth, but do you realise that your presence in my life is doing no good?'
'Why do you blame me everytime, when it's you who doesn't care about your skin at all?'

-

Someone in a silent WhatsApp group : So is this group dead after all?

Me : I think it's just that the people are dead inside

Everyone : ha ha ha true

That one kid : wait I didn't understand why she said everyone is dead guys pls explain

Everyone :

-

You are everything that happens in the end.

The relief washing down
The sudden pang of emptiness
The want to start over
And the tired crunch of feet moving on.

You are everything that is close to a beginning,
but a different one.

-