Today was my birthday.
Not every year do I celebrate my day the same way.
Some years have seen no candles,
some — not even the cake.
Some years have seen everyone happy except me,
and in some, the happy one was me only.

This year, there was a cake —
no celebration,
no candles, no wish-making.
Just family,
and a cousin of mine trying to cut the cake.

Still, something changed.
I was now twenty-one —
with responsibilities
I never took seriously,
yet they seemed burdensome today.

And even now,
I keep contemplating my life,
and its meaning.

When someone stops you
from doing things
that are better for them
but worse for you,

’Cause once the guilt
for doing certain things
never vanishes,
it evaporates,
condensing into a cloud,

and when it rains
it drowns you.

And to deter it,
the one who loves you
will stop you.

That—
there is true love.

Getting angry, lashing out,
The fight is without
Any doubt.

About to see
My love throughout.

After all is done,
You come back with a pout,
Telling me to drop out.

But I figured out —
It’s never me;
It’s your own faults
Handed out.

At times, every breath I take
Seems to leave me breathless.

Every step forward
Leads to backward.

Running towards the light,
But still not reaching it,
Leaves me despaired.

I feel like losing control of my body,
Like being a puppet
With no strings attached.

At such moments,
I see my hopes,
The responsibility,
The love I carry —
That light to my never-ending darkness.

And then my breaths
Don’t leave me breathless,
And I go on.

Every day
I am faced with the question
of my existence.

And the answer
is always found
when I see myself
in my loved ones’ eyes,
and in the smiles
they wear
when they see me
being a part of their world

You are too good for me
Maybe I should leave me,
But
how…
how can I
When I see how you love me,
How you care for me?

Maybe it's my selfishness
To hold you,
And maybe my helplessness too.

But all I can do
Is try
To be best of myself
For you.

Kindness is hard to find, they say.
I say it is rather hard to recognise—

Like finding a
DIAMOND
But thinking it a
ROCK,
Going by strength instead of value.

‘Cause good deeds done
Wearing an invisibility cloak
Is what makes it kindness—

The foundation of hope for humans
For centuries, past and yet to come.

Something everyone expects,
But few truly do.