Noraya Razzaque
And if you must live a life, realize that a full life cannot truly be realized. We live broken lives with compromises on ideals we don't believe. We accept injustice in places we began movements. We're complacent human beings hungry for love we don't deserve and we extort it from others. We're leeches of the earth. But we're beautiful because we're chaos, and our chaos is our perfection.
***
Things you'll never see and things I'll never say...and once upon a time is now a faraway day. Is it you or is it me? The one that got away. But you're safe in my haven, a boxed memory with the key lost. Always was I in danger, these things never changed. And I warned you, and I tried, I tried to warn you away....So I'm numb from your name. Your name is the same, but I forget you've changed. My name is the same, but I've shed so many skins. I hope I'm unrecognizable in your quiet eyes. Let's feign forgiveness, for I haven't forgiven you at all. Let's feign forgetfulness, for I'll never forget you at all. Let's feign ignorance, for our misunderstandings were our largest faults. Let's feign a new day...ah, but it is. You've sunken into the past and I live presently. Let's feign happiness, maybe today I'll move on.
-To my deliberate indifference of propriety for the past
***
The separation is mute on a point neither of us will admit to except in those wonderful adrenaline pumped "mistakes" we didn't mean to make to elongate the pressure in our hearts to play a game beating the thresholds of limits we drew the borders for safety and a future where we can't express and say "how much I miss you" and say things to you that no one knows the words that start to the loop the separation is mute on a point neither of us will admit to.
***
If I could be free forever, I'd burn the threads that tied us together and start all over. And since your sweetness failed, I'd take a bite of the bitter fruit of lovelessness because the taste of loneliness couldn't ever be worse than the unfulfilled promises of what could've been and what was.
***
Things you'll never see and things I'll never say...and once upon a time is now a faraway day. Is it you or is it me? The one that got away. But you're safe in my haven, a boxed memory with the key lost. Always was I in danger, these things never changed. And I warned you, and I tried, I tried to warn you away....So I'm numb from your name. Your name is the same, but I forget you've changed. My name is the same, but I've shed so many skins. I hope I'm unrecognizable in your quiet eyes. Let's feign forgiveness, for I haven't forgiven you at all. Let's feign forgetfulness, for I'll never forget you at all. Let's feign ignorance, for our misunderstandings were our largest faults. Let's feign a new day...ah, but it is. You've sunken into the past and I live presently. Let's feign happiness, maybe today I'll move on.
-To my deliberate indifference of propriety for the past
***
The separation is mute on a point neither of us will admit to except in those wonderful adrenaline pumped "mistakes" we didn't mean to make to elongate the pressure in our hearts to play a game beating the thresholds of limits we drew the borders for safety and a future where we can't express and say "how much I miss you" and say things to you that no one knows the words that start to the loop the separation is mute on a point neither of us will admit to.
***
If I could be free forever, I'd burn the threads that tied us together and start all over. And since your sweetness failed, I'd take a bite of the bitter fruit of lovelessness because the taste of loneliness couldn't ever be worse than the unfulfilled promises of what could've been and what was.
Vana Xiong
sewol, sewol, sewol
swim
swim
swim
can
you
hear
me?
sink
sink
sink
mom
dad
it
hurts
help
me
save
me
***
My past and present no longer
weave my stories together for the in-
terest of indulging this idea of individuality into the us
entangle you, I.
In the midst of my frustration
gnawing the rot living in my heart
pain is loose and locked and all a lie because for I and us
I smile for you.
In the midst of not knowing
why there exists a you and me and us
why broken and broke and break do not mean the same
I bleed for you.
Every memory
of the decisions
I make
are the actions
and thoughts
dust covered and lonely
in the places
only together
we hold
forgotten
are not just mine
but ours.
***
here,
rest.
borne but barren to be broken
& burdened to only bleed & be buried
here,
rest.
leave me lonely lull me lullaby
lasting he said everlasting
swim
swim
swim
can
you
hear
me?
sink
sink
sink
mom
dad
it
hurts
help
me
save
me
***
My past and present no longer
weave my stories together for the in-
terest of indulging this idea of individuality into the us
entangle you, I.
In the midst of my frustration
gnawing the rot living in my heart
pain is loose and locked and all a lie because for I and us
I smile for you.
In the midst of not knowing
why there exists a you and me and us
why broken and broke and break do not mean the same
I bleed for you.
Every memory
of the decisions
I make
are the actions
and thoughts
dust covered and lonely
in the places
only together
we hold
forgotten
are not just mine
but ours.
***
here,
rest.
borne but barren to be broken
& burdened to only bleed & be buried
here,
rest.
leave me lonely lull me lullaby
lasting he said everlasting
Gargi Vyas
Don’t say that it will get better
That I am beautiful and strong
That I will learn something from it
Say that it may get worse
That I may be damaged and ugly and weak
That it was a mistake and nothing good came out of it
Because then-
I know what to make right
Don’t give me consolation
Give me a reason to believe
Give me a reason to remember being pretty is not important in the first place
Give me a reason to pick myself up
Give me a reason to fight
Give me a reason to hug myself tight
So all the broken pieces come together
Give me a reason to accept-
It is okay to be broken
It is okay to walk off the path
It is okay to not have a path
It is okay to make my own
As many times as I want
Because then I will need no consolation, not even a reason
All I would need is me
And that is good enough
That I am beautiful and strong
That I will learn something from it
Say that it may get worse
That I may be damaged and ugly and weak
That it was a mistake and nothing good came out of it
Because then-
I know what to make right
Don’t give me consolation
Give me a reason to believe
Give me a reason to remember being pretty is not important in the first place
Give me a reason to pick myself up
Give me a reason to fight
Give me a reason to hug myself tight
So all the broken pieces come together
Give me a reason to accept-
It is okay to be broken
It is okay to walk off the path
It is okay to not have a path
It is okay to make my own
As many times as I want
Because then I will need no consolation, not even a reason
All I would need is me
And that is good enough