3rd day in the row,
tik tik,
past midnight,but no sign of sleep,
tik tik,
instead,my brain is drifting into thoughts,
tik tik,
which no man can think in sanity,
tik tik,
sound of clock keeping me calm and awake,
tik tik,
if not for the clock i would have been grotesque by the thoughts,
tik tik,
looking into the abyss through the window near my bed,
tik tik,
thinking about the tree which is right now growing wood for my coffin,
tik tik,
than suddenly,
tik tik,
i saw,
tik tik,
just outside my window,
tik tik,
a face,
tik tik,
i live on 14th floor,
tik tik.

-tik tik by adarsh singh

Age five I never tripped
Never got hurt
No bone broken
They gave me bandages anyway
I could see their bandages
Underneath every shirt
Tik tik tik
Age 10 a knife was stuck into my chest
Drip
Drip
Drip
But no one else saw the blood
Only the knife through my lungs
I couldn’t breathe
They gave me a bandage and told me
That’s life
I could see theirs bandaged chests
There was no blood on them
Tik tik tik
Age twelve I went outside
My pockets filled with spare bandages
Had to be prepared for the cuts to bleed through
A man I had never seen before told me
You don’t need those bandages anymore
He ripped off the cloth covering my scrapes
Only a bead of blood trickled out
I didn’t know why he did it
Tik tik tik
I see him again
He tells me
You don’t need those bandages anymore
I take them off
The **** on my chest
Still bleeding profusely
A small cut near my thigh
Drip
Drip
Drip
His own blood stained bandages covered his eyes
His body sticky from the blood the wound caused
I think he needs a doctor
Tik tik tik
I see him
Again
Again
Again
I bandage myself more
Only to rip it off when I see him
Drip
Drip
Drip
My chest is soaked
I think I need a doctor
Tik tik tik
Age fifteen I hadn’t seen him in years
But he was there when anyone spoke
Too many bandages
Not enough space
Too much blood
Drip
Drip
Drip
Tik tik tik
In two months time I saw a man I had known for many years
You need another bandage. I can see your cuts
I think his eyes are damaged
I can see the blood coming through
I think he needs a doctor