Layers

Do you feel like you've lost touch with your real self lately? I am working on removing all these layers, what about you?

We all have multiple layers—

some that we tossed on without a care,

and some that were put on more consciously.

Like the ones after those episodic calamities.

Well, at least they seemed so then,

why else would we wear layers time and again?

They are like our little escapes,

preventing cruelty from taking shape,

and protecting our gentle, soft hearts.

Little did we know, that in shielding from darts

aimed directly at us,

we weren't actually solving the fuss.

It was being left to linger

just outside, at the mere touch of a finger.

Waiting to hit us back,

as soon as we leave even a crack.

And just among all this build and shield,

we never realized when we forgot the sealed

parts of us that were truly real.

Now we are all just grappling ideals.

~Khyati

Enough

Thick thighs save lives,

and the thin ones look grim.

Why is it that to uplift a certain section

we have to lower the remaining?

Fat shaming is a problem

in a world full of ideals.

Then why is it found to be okay to ask

someone thin if they skip their meals?

How long will we continue to wear layers

that are both insensitive and ignorant?

Can't we all for once shed them

and be real and kind? Because it's urgent.

We are losing the ones who are quiet among us,

and it isn't their fault for god's sake, अब बस!*

We have to mend our ways once and for all

or be ready to face a self-brought downfall.

Which would make us the stupidest of species.

Oh, what a contrast from our ancestors would that be!

So are you ready to change your future,

or do you want it all to end even sooner?

~Khyati

*'अब बस' translates to 'Enough Now'.

On love

Sometimes, we lose sight of what we love deeply

in pursuit of achievements, we deem worthy.

We forget the feelings associated with it completely

until we stumble upon things that make it less blurry.

And at that moment, it all comes back to you.

Rushing back in all its glory,

bringing admiration and overwhelming you on cue.

You look at it all as it plays, like a story.

One that you've heard many times,

but also the one that always feels new.

It fully engulfs you, as if you had no boundary lines.

You explore the newfound joy and all that's due,

until the next time you lose its sight.

And until the next time you stumble,

the love in you stays buried inside—

hopeful, eager and humbled.

~Khyati