Art by Rewant Ahlawat
If someone would have told me
that they were to leave tomorrow,
I would have quietly locked
their being into my memory;
each and every detail.
From the creases on their forehead
to the tiny bruises on their knuckles,
I would lock every detail in
the corners of my head,
and make them a part of me.
Every inch of their presence
would reside inside the walls
of my mind, so that when
a child walking on the beach
would suddenly stop and wonder
at the sight of a starfish lying naked,
and vulnerable, he would sit down
on his knees and peer deep inside,
perhaps finding his own story
in the bright scales of eternity
glistening like the edges of a galactic sea,
A lone island, and an unfinished journey.
Each limb would be a chapter,
each detail a song,
and in its entirety, a life.
Upon losing himself in the aquan dreams,
he would step out in the darkest night,
with just moonlight to show him the path
to a life full of love and acceptance.
A home on an island, and the serene waves
of darkness, continuously being complemented
by the heavenly light falling on his shoulders,
like a halo of saving grace. While sailing back
from the island, he would find comfort in the
tunes of cosmic nothingness, and long for peace,
that is only known when a baby sleeps.
And just like a story would end
and the writer would put his pen to rest,
an artist would dip his brush in water,
a mother dying of thirst,
would give the last drop to her child.
He will begin to see the traces of the shore,
the details of the broken earth,
and come home to her,
dazed and confused,
taking all of her details in,
every inch, and every end,
becoming a part of her,
a part of me.
This piece has been authored by Yastika Sharma, the co-founder of, and social media & outreach head at The Night Owl Writes.
The work of art has been contributed by Rewant Ahlawat. He is a twenty-year-old cadet undergoing military training at the prestigious National Defence Academy, Pune. He is an energetic combination of art-meets-life, sketching away exotic details on a canvas full of dreams.