Prowess with a pen: Dheekshi Jaikumar

By Dheekshi Jaikumar

A Woman Unlike Any Other

Mum I’m sorry.

I’m sorry I’ve hurt you.

Every night I think about being home again.

I haven’t called, but I wish you could hear me and know that I’m ok.

I want to hear your voice, gently telling me I can make it.

I feel as if the girl I once was, has been lost,

And I need your voice to call me back.

Can you bring her back again?

Or have I already turned into a complete stranger?

This new and unfamiliar person is gripped by fear,

A fear of toxic people.

A fear of failed attempts to make a difference.

My close friends don’t like this new girl.

She now sees the truth beneath the lies they spun around her.

She now knows there is always someone to betray you,

She knows at first they seem to help.

Mum,

Please talk to me again.

I want to fix the wrongs of the past.

Every night I think about being home again.

I haven’t called, but I wish you could hear me and know that I’m ok.

So, for everything you have done for me,

Thank you Mum.

Illustration by Dheekshi Jaikumar

Only With You

My fondness for you has not faded,

I have always got you on my mind.

Thinking about our love, missing you and picturing us together again.

I fight myself through sleepless nights,

Aware of the hardship we have yet to face.

And plagued by troubles that crash into our fairy tale.

I just continue.

When I’m surrounded by your kindness I finally see myself,

And I want to be close to you again.

Everything about you tells me that we are worth it,

I want to give us more than I usually do,

Because I am blissfully falling,

Only when I am with you.

Dheekshi Jaikumar is currently pursuing a law degree and writing poems on the side. Her inspiration stems from experiencing the struggle to find belonging while connecting with her own vulnerabilities. Through her poetry, Dheekshi wants to share the message that when you open up to your emotions you are not alone.