Aphrodisiac

She's thinking of you tonight,
With your gaze on her,
And her stomach in knots,
Clawing at the cold floor.

She's thinking of you tonight,
Camouflaging the wine in her eyes,
Palms stained by the rusty railing,
Wishing you'd catch her fall.

She's thinking of you tonight,
Her mascara quivering,
Starving to make her
Scars perfect for you.

She's thinking of you tonight,
Her restless fingers nudging one another,
The needles of her soundless voice
Screaming at the empty sky.

She's thinking of you tonight,
As you remain oblivious,
While the hurricane you gifted
Stirs and shakes and shatters her cage.

She's thinking of you tonight,
Through the battles she fights
To stop herself from begging
You to stay.

She's thinking of you tonight,
Amidst the stolen seconds,
Along the tangent between
Her breaths and the blur.

She's thinking of you tonight,
On the road faded with noise,
As the horizon swallows her song,
Her last whisper being your name.


- Sayantani Sarkar.

The Fall

The sun is golden again today,
Like that blazing Friday afternoon,
When the horizon refused to part,
Perched below the soft hues.

The sun is golden again today,
Like when the wrinkled silk
Whispered stories from our Pensieve,
Bellowing across the cobbled lanes.

The sun is golden again today,
Like your coffee turning cold
Against the sleeping hammock,
Counting the droplets of the clock.

The sun is golden again today,
As I sit here waiting,
For a kinder storm
To bring back the Autumn leaves.


- Sayantani Sarkar.

Serendipity

We stood there;
With your eyes tasting of smoke and the night smelling like fire, watching the blue turn into orange and  time turn into sand. Our fingers holding on to the threads of a story dying to breathe out of its cage.

And I remember;
I remember the moment I realised it. We'd been up till the sky started to fade, talking and laughing and dreaming. And the stars shone down with our names on them, as our lips curved at the secret only we knew, in a world that was just ours, dancing to the music only we could hear.

And now I know;
I know what it feels to melt like sunlight on dew drops. I know why meteors fall and crash and burn so hard. I know why blood, war and heartache are sisters of the same colour.

I know, I know, I know. And yet I choose you. With all the smithereens in me trembling and echoing to your voice, I choose you.

The Yellow Apple

She's the girl with the wild hair,
The tresses that aren't afraid to be alone,
The pen that looks around and sees stories,
And gives them an ending of her own.

She dances along the marshmallowy clouds,
With dreams in one eye and the other immersed in hope,
Looking for the tent of shooting stars,
To sprinkle across her gingery abode.

You've noticed her;
Staring out the black window,
Gazing at the orange sky,
Her tea dipped in rainbow colours.

You've laughed with her;
While she was chasing the fireflies,
While she was tickling the snow globe,
While she was painting her journals.

You've laughed at her;
At her milky glasses,
At her crooked laugh,
At her tangled toes.

But you can't see what she can,
Through her cloak of insanity.
For she's the glitter in the dust;
She, is The Yellow Apple. 

- Sayantani Sarkar.

Ibaadat

Mannat ho tum,

Dua ho meri.

Raat ke saaye se nikalti,

Subah ho meri.

Chaahat ho, amaanat bhi,

Shiddat ho, ibaadat bhi,

Lahu ke rang sa,

Wafa ho meri.

Rooh ke silvato se lipti

Wo yaadon ki shaam,

Baaton se bhari mehfil mein

Khamoshi ho meri.

Khud se zyada,

Khuda se zyada,

Beintehaan mohabbat ki,

Saza ho meri.

- Sayantani Sarkar. 

One Last Dance

Dancing with her drunken mirth,

He lifted her softly

And buried himself

Beside her noisy skin.

All she could recollect

Was lying in his arms

In a blurry haze,

Listening to his heart race.

She'd said things

She couldn't remember,

And wished

He would forget.

He whispered her name,

And traced his own

On her warm palms

Cursing the hourglass.

She breathed him in, knowing

His was the face she wanted to

Lose sleep to every moon

For the rest of her days.

They watched the night escape

In pieces of their laughter,

They chased its chariot

In polaroids of their promises.

The clock struck dawn

And broke the spell,

Leaving behind wings and

Ashes of their one last dance.

- Sayantani Sarkar. 

The Highway

At times I wish I could unmeet you. But then I wonder what kind of a life that would be.

I wouldn't know how it feels to have someone look at you till your knees melt. I wouldn't know what it's like to have your lips memorize someone's name. I wouldn't know that someone's terrified shoulders is where I'd find peace; that you could be deliriously happy enough to touch the sky and have the stars fall on your lap.

I wouldn't have known it’s possible to love someone with every shattered scattered smithereens of your being. I wouldn't know what it's like to have your skin crawl under this weight you're carrying; to scream so loud that no one hears you. I wouldn't have known heartbreak and gut-wrenching pain, but I do, and I wouldn't have it any other way. And if I could, I'd do it all over again.

So, let’s go back.

Let’s go back to the start.

Watch our story unfold with all its ripples.

Point out our favourite chapters and repeat them.

Let’s go back to the start.

Let’s go back.