Aaliya explores the raw, lingering textures of loneliness and emotional endurance in this poignant poem on DifferentTruths.com.
I have held a secret door for myself
Out of myself
Into some vastness
There is a window there
I dare not open it
I have hung my beloved's portrait over there
The only fragrance there is of love...
When the world gathers all its harshness and lays it upon me
I leave myself behind to rest from the world a little
One landscape,
Where my memory doesn’t follow me
Where the nightmares don't hold placards by the meanest creatures
Where I can still hear the birds sing
And as I sip my evening tea, the words seep into the nearby river
And compose into a tranquil poem!
Picture design by Anumita Roy
Dr Aaliya Mushtaq Baba, PhD (Department of English, University of Kashmir), navigates the intersections of politics, philosophy, and autobiographical writing. She has been engaged in literary academia across three universities in the region for over six years. An accomplished poet, her work has appeared in Miraas, Sheeraza, Kashmir Lit, English Studies in India, and Setu (Pittsburgh, USA). Her poetry also finds a place in The Kali Project: Invoking the Goddess Within/Indian Women’s Voices and Love and Longing: An International Anthology of Poems. With the recent release of her debut collection, Ode to Silence, her poetic voice continues to resonate through literary landscapes.
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