Photo credit: Nouman Raees
A Portrait of You
By Zainab Udaipurwala
All this while
lurking around the art gallery
nothing caught my eye
as much as this
one painting
that hung high upon
the tall white ceiling
It had shades of crimson red
and carnelian,
underneath the
lips and the sides
of each cheek
Along with the strokes
painted with mulberry
and a mixture of plum
that signified the
damage beneath
the eye
It was like
the painting was
screaming for attention
towards the behavior
that had been displayed
upon the face
It seemed so vivid
as if the portrait
had tears running
down its face
with muffled voices
trying to put across
a forbidden message
But, the lips
appeared to be painted
with a thick layer of
greyish white
that prevented the
screams to travel
past the canvas
There was a story depicted
through the depths of
smudging, thin lines
and strokes that
are beyond ones understanding
And, at the bottom of the canvas
your name was written in silver
along with the title “A Portrait of You”
Photo credit: Andrei Lazarev
I Promise
By Zainab Udaipurwala
Just hold on
to me,
I swear I
will get better
I promise
they are working
on a cure for me,
I promise
I am taking
my meds on time,
Just hold on
to me,
They all seem
to leave me
when they see me
like this,
Do I look
that bad
with no hair,
Or do I look
scary with dark
under eyes
and sucked in cheeks,
Just hold on
to me,
I know I am
in the last stage
But if you
are here with me
I am ready
to fight it all
Ready to
take and experiment
all they have,
Ready to live
with you just
for once,
Just hold on
to me,
Just give me
hopes that you
will stay
stay till I close
my eyes,
Just tell me
you will be the
last person I
see when I leave,
Just hold on
to me,
I know I am
troubling you
and you want to
go out
enjoy your life,
But just sit
for a little
while and I will
be gone soon
while you are asleep.
Photo credit: Jacqueline Day
Purple Couch
By Zainab Udaipurwala
He sat there
on his leather chair
and asked me
to have a seat
in front of him
on the soft
Purple Couch
He then took
out his book
and his shining blue pen
Next, he started writing
my casual details of
the present day
His hazel green
and focused eyes
met my brown sorrowful
and confused eyes
searching for the answers
he wanted from me today
He checked my
body language
and nodded in disapproval
he questioned me
if I had done
something awful
and wanted to share
with him
I shook my head
round and round
and denied
to give him the
Answer he already knew
So he placed
a paper on the table
in front of me
and set a few
Purple colored pencils
crayons, and sketches
beside the paper
After a while
into coloring
the thoughts from my mind
slipped away from
my mouth
and crawled straight
into his book
Once again he
got his desired
Answer from my
stubborn mouth
His gaze shifted
towards his wrist
on the Golden watch
and the Ancient clock
above my head
to let me know
that the session
for today was successful
and over.
Photo credit: Cristian Newman
The Demon Inside Him
By Zainab Udaipurwala
His eyes were full of lust
that would scare you,
His hands trembling
to touch every part of yours,
His lips ready to attack
your body in a way that
you could never imagine
He was going to do something
that would bring you pain.,
He was going to do something
that would make you cry in disgust,
He was going to do something
that nobody could save you from,
He was going to do something
that would make you cringe
and hate yourself,
He was going to do something
which should not be done with you
Not when you are screaming
and begging him to stop!
“Wake up! It’s a nightmare about him again” you are okay…. assured the voice…. beside me!