Featured Image by Ishani Das
Deep slumber has met its end
I get off my bed
a black waterfall rises
and falls beyond my shoulders
a million streams of water
dark as the night
relish in their freedom
just as I grab a hair tie
tie them up
and get to the day.
Hours later
the waterfall is long gone
replaced by an angry
monsoon cloud
not as perfect in shape as it was
in the morning
I pull the hair tie
it rains down to my waist
only to have a comb
shoved down its throat
breaking off its velocity
a few strands rebel
but fail and fall to the ground
in a mess, no one wants to deal with.
Through the day
banned from expressing
it’s free will
after leaving it open
only to find it going
in directions, I’m not supposed
to follow
my hair
breathes
as a tangled mess of thoughts
each more knotted than the first
shampoo commercials feed it fire
but just as it’s ready to get what it’s worth
my anxious mind
tightens the spiral
holding my ponytail.
It doesn’t breathe freely
until midnight
when it lies sprawled
across the pillows
unhinged
uninhibited
no hair ties, no clips, no combs
just unadulterated independence
free like I can only
dream to be
I drown in the guilt
of not letting them live
till I fall asleep.
Early Morning
still dark outside
faint hissing through my dreams
I wake up to
the wrath of a goddess
over my head
punished for a crime I didn’t commit
slithering softly
the snakes like to whisper
darkness in parseltongue
until my mind is darker than death
I roll over to
grab the scissors off the bedside table
cut off their heads
split at the tip
and watch them bleed black
in drops that vanish
before they hit the ground
a sigh and a blanket snuggle later
I’m back asleep.
By Adritanaya Tiwari
Adritanaya Tiwari is a dental student from India who has been published in Nightingale and Sparrow Magazine and Live Wire. She spends her time making strange analogies and calming her artsy alter-ego to focus on never-ending syllabus. She can be found on Instagram and Twitter – @adrillusioned.
