Longing

Close-up photograph of a vivid wet red rose with a black background

By Ariba Pasha

You think it wrong of you to do so

But shedding tears does not make you lose your sperms

The heart too needs to quiver once in a while

To gather the courage to truly stand firm

I want to see the tears on your face

Glistening with the haunting memories of a childhood

Abused, belittled and gradually worn

Without restraint letting them flow on

I want to touch your naked body

With the passion of a deranged lover

For the body and soul to finally unite

And us to meet as equally flawed beings

I want to light myself with the darkness of your soul

As I wander through the dreary poisoned veins

That fuse together in chaotic delight

And fill the gap in my chest where there once was a hole

What good does it bring? You ask

Standing amidst the ruins of a broken past

But all I can do is smile and stare down

At my shattered reigns where once a devil danced

Ariba Pasha is a Pakistani writer who holds no prior experience within the realm of poetic inconveniences. Yet each day, she wakes up with the inextinguishable passion to be better for herself and for those around her. She has been featured previously in Rigorous, a magazine of people of color, and The Elevation Review. Her work stands nevertheless for the mere sake of her inevitable longing for a brighter, hopeful earth.