Loneliness

By Mallika Chandrasekhar

Tendrils growing on my skin

Tenacious claws within

Dampness on my hair

It hangs in the air

Winter that comes before time

Nightfall arrives too soon

Loneliness accompanies me everywhere

It swirls in my glass of wine

It encompasses my consciousness

It enters my conversations

It lays on my pillow

Hugs me to sleep

Then wakes me up

Uses my slippers

Sweeps me off my feet

Envelops me in a bear hug

Reminding me of its constant presence

It comes to work

Hides in my smile

Gnaws my insides

Eats with me

Lurks surreptitiously in my lunch box

Stealthily circumnavigating my thoughts

Peeking through the curtains of my meditativeness

Its hell when darkness descends

The heart collapses on itself

Pierced by the needle prick of loneliness

It says “let me put you to sleep”

A big lie

It keeps me wide awake

Terrified

Loneliness is the open airless window

In my room

The third pillow on my bed

Tears unshed

Dreamless dreams

That turn into morbid scenes

It squashes itself into my diaphragm

Shrouding me with its ominous intent

A dull ache

A constant hum of emptiness

A silence that hurts

A heavy cloak

That falls on my shoulders

Unable to shake it off

I wander through the days

Stagger through nights

Waiting for deliverance

From this contagion called loneliness

That ails our world of a billion people

By Mallika Chandrasekhar