The iridescence of petals against dark hair,
Strings of flowers looped over pale skin
Carried on nodding heads like regal crowns
Blooms of colour in loud, milling crowds
Yells of glee and murmurs of ennui,
And the blank gaze of somebody utterly alone
Standing in that dim corner of solitude
Fingers strewn with paper rings, lips sewn with unfulfilled promises
Eyes glossed with the fluidity of betrayal and duplicity
Silent because if she spoke,
She’d be blinded by falsehood yet again
Naivety has its boundaries; she doesn’t.
She’s shuffled from place to place,
Discarded like a splintered porcelain doll,
An useless possession nobody cares to cherish,
A rebound, a second choice, a middling,
All she’s ever known is a kingdom of lies.
Dihaan Khan is a student at Maple Leaf International School.
