And You Thought You Would Never Write Again

by Nalini Priyadarshni

Nights when you can’t sleep do strange things to you…

Nights after the fights where

angry words are thrown around

hurts bartered

until one leaves in a huff

unapologetic, unforgiven

With mouthful of half chewed profanities

you look at tangled skeins of nastiness

wrapped around your hands

wondering where to begin untangling

whether to spit the poison still

bubbling in your mouth

or swallow it.

There is no way to unsay the words once spoken

no way to unthrust the hurt

Driven deep into their souls

to stop them from leaving

just leaves a trail of bitterness

that can’t be washed away

Forgiveness comes much later if at all

sometimes after a lifetime of negotiation

with your demons

words you could have said

or left unsaid

bruises you could have hidden

with a little make-up

and things would have been just fine

until the next time

Not for faint spirited

this thing called love

not if you can’t pick shards of 

your brokenness

and walk off without a limp

open doors where none exist

seek light but within

put hands around your flame

and keep burning

till your song couldn’t be fettered

….and you thought you would never write again!

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This poems is part of Nalini Priyadarshni 's poetry collection Doppelganger in my House