“As the Numbness Spreads” by Nandana Arun

It is a sullen, yet perky feeling,
when desperate cries and woes are being answered.
Once a blue moon, there is a spark of joy,
that keeps you up, like a child with a new toy.

And you are not alone in this feeling
of gnawing stomachs and heads spinning.
I want to cry out and scream to the clouds,
but the voices above me would call me loud.

The wails I hear around me reverberate off the wall.
Then befalls the silence;
the pounding of my heart is alone,
as I long for someone to understand my fears.

Nandana (she/they) is an undergraduate student from India who wishes to write and read more. Presently pursuing something that barely keeps her interested, she aspires to be a filmmaker and writer, hoping to weave tales that move everyone.

Living in her imagination, she has been writing poems and stories since a child. In the pursuit of a realistic career, she was unable to live her dreams. She hopes to reconnect with her creative self and rekindle her old flame for writing.