Real Talk

A Poem by Priyal Thakkar

what you need to hear; in verses.

Tell me.
Tell me,
your deepest fears.

I'll chew them up and spit them out, their taste will never leave my mouth.
My wall will be stained with thoughts that pop into your mind every night.
How you mumble you have nothing to offer to the world
and exclaim RSVPing should be a writ of right
since nobody showed up on your birthday when you were six and also because not doing so is just impolite.

How you fear your world will end with your demise.
You’re the only person I know who questions people when they say sparks fly
because only you wonder where they land.

You weep about feeling incomplete.
He never loved me, you exclaim between tears.
You fear you’ll never find happiness and how you can fit your childhood in a box.
You’re only 18 but most of your sentences begin with ‘when I was young’.

You dance in the fields of memories, and fail to understand how you end up with bloody feet.
Blades are sharp, even if they are made of grass.
You don't notice the 'Work In Progress' sign planted right outside your mind.
You don't think happiness exists because the reality you built
stands shadowed by the little voices in your head.

He could never love the fiery red you are,
because his love was colour blind.
And you are a half. We all are.
Who said every half, needs to be whole to be complete?
The crescent is more beautiful than the full and it's still called the moon.

It is true your world will end with you.
But aren't our worlds interlinked intricately?
Don't they spin and dance and spill over, with a disregard to symmetry?
Does my world ever take up your space; because it sure is made of you.
And if our worlds are colours on my bedsheets; all flowing into one and from one.
Never knew the origin of any.
Then, is it true your world will end with you?

And yes sparks fly left, right, and centre.
Most of them start fires, but the others light fireworks.
So look me in the eye and tell me how you cried that night,
your tears illuminated by the ember glow the candles cast.
How your six year old self was left scarred; and I will tell you how one of the best moments in your life,
was eating the entire cake that night.

Stop looking for tragedies to blame your sadness on.

You can’t walk on sunshine without letting your heels get burnt, life doesn’t meet you halfway.
So the next time you feel like you have nothing to offer to the world,
know that you’re a person and not a biscuit tray.