Plush red sofa chairs

As comfy as the midnight sun

I freely sit

Its a cold cold world

And in the night

My solitude

I find, a semblance of reality

That wakes me up

Leaves me feeling cold

And outside the window

All I see

What little is left of humanity

Up in embers of smoke

And yet I see through them

The twinkling stars and the shining moon

Beckoning me to a world

Full of flighty delights

And unkempt avarice

My heart stops at once

And melodramatically thumps

Swirling with platitudes

Of suppressed emotions

But I-

I close my eyes

Swipe the touchscreen

Plastering a humble smile

Of utter gratitude

That if I didn’t know me

More than I know you

I think I could convince

My very conscience

And in all honesty can I say

At the end

Of this very painful everyday

“Dear me, I rue,

In this big bad world

How long would I stay

Honest with you too?”

–  Akanksha Gupta