Poem: Outside/Inside

Outside, she sits pretty,

her pigtails tied with pink ribbons,

watching the green fields swell,

the wet droplets of spring shower worming into the damp soil,

her once innocent gaze follows the bee,

the bee which flirts with the sunflower,

her voice cracks, as she calls for rosy,

wishing to feel her warm belly,

rosy comes, waddling, tail wagging,

her belly as full as hers,

Inside, she thinks of him,

the tender touch,

the comforting words,

the fulfilling moment,

and now the lost presence,

the falseness,

Outside, mama calls,

“papa is almost home,” she says,

“mama please,”

Inside, she thinks,

trying to consummate the little she knew,

some nucleus of sense,

something she could deliver to make them understand,

her adolescent hopes,

Outside, her childlike eyes watched rosy sleep,

unbothered, untroubled, unabandoned,

Inside, her sullied thoughts wished to be rosy,

wishfully wishing that tomorrow will be better,

Outside, a child,

Inside, a woman.

Published by Arshan Dhillon