Poetry Collection by Aaryana Sharma

Starry Nights

One night

I remember

I was laying

On the ground

Of the field

Not far from home

Staring at the Stars

In the dark black night

Thinking

About stars

How precious they are

How small yet large they radiate

In the dark night sky

The grass under me tickled

My legs uncovered

In a sports skirt

And tank top

My black curls

Blending into the dark grass

Can you wait?

I asked the stars

As they pulled my eyes closer

And closer

Can you wait for me?

They glistened

Yes, come on, we're waiting for you

I held my hand up

Trying to capture the stars

But none came

Only a firefly

Got trapped

In my palm

Ikigai

I remember

What Mama had told me

About the Japanese culture

And the concept of Ikigai

The idea

That even broken

Looked beautiful

The more shattered

Cracked

Damaged

Discarded

Worn out

Something appeared

Or felt

The more beautiful it is

I wonder

If people are like that

If a person

Was falling apart

And having trouble

With so much

That I couldn't even imagine

That made them priceless

Extraordinary

And wonderous

Ikigai

Is the reason

For one's being

Their purpose

And to me

That was magical

Mirror Reality

A painting

Two mannequins

One helping the other

Dancing

With care

In the mirror

The mannequin are in color

Different from reality

In truth

The mannequin

Are dull colors

Light brown

Grey

Shades and tints

Of melancholy

But in the mirror

In the parallel universe

In the fantasized life

Everything is in color

Everything is exactly

The way it's supposed to be

Sometimes

Paintings

With mirrors-two way glasses

Serve as visionaries

Into

Our reality

Where we are the mannequins

Wanting to see ourselves

Somewhere else

Somewhere incredible