by Mariam S., 16
We laugh like none of us can see one another.
We laugh like only we can see each other.
The way you rest your eyes and my heart flies—
When did I fall for you?
Well I fall for you every second the earth has bestowed on me …
Just went through our chats because
apparently we can’t text—
10 days is all it took for me to fall in love,
for him to make me feel his,
for apparently us to be a thing.
God knows how long will it take to unlove these bits.
It was all so sudden, from marking my calendar to talk to you again
like the first time
to not being able to unmark it.
Too many plans, too many dreams
left untouched.
Dreams we weaved with our words.
The call was already giving the zest of parting ways.
but no signs really took place,
everything just fell to place,
bit by bit at its pace.
Time did its thing and it all went away in a blink.
I joined with so much excitement,
thinking it’s one of those days where we talk like lovers
who have been enchanted to be each other’s forever.
From hi hellos to bye and sad swallows.
It all had its rhythm.
From us laughing together
to us talking about life and reality,
to us parting ways,
to us crying (because I did),
to the last moments of parting ways.
Some dreams look better untouched—
dreams of us being together,
dreams of having that pink hoodie on together,
dreams of that life together.
I lost count of crying
because this was the one last time I thought it was my forever,
you were my forever.
It’s the first night without you,
the first night where you are not mine after knowing you;
I thought this would be easier,
but my day sounded like a lifeless melody,
a black and white TV,
my day felt empty and heavy without your presence.
I still can’t get over the fact that this is how life will be—
My love for you is an endless bounty.
My life without you is a black and white TV.
I hugged my pillow a little harder today
because it hurts more today,
without you yet only with you.
The morning was different today,
my heart felt lighter, even the sun shined brighter,
but I could feel you in me, within my heart—
a sweet presence, like the first time.
When we think we are beyond something that is when the vulnerability reality hits.
I cannot think beyond you.
I’m not beyond you.
It’s true,
these days I think a little less about you,
because you don’t even leave my mind,
you’re always just there,
sometimes silently,
sometimes in the chaos of my thoughts.
Narsingdi, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Bridge Ink 