Strength

After another allnighter and
another slow day, today,
I saw something so familiar,
so viciously dreadful.
It stayed behind me, lurking,
as if I'd break if it touched me,
calling me back by
sending two rivers of cold needles
up and down my body.

Oh, dear depression, I am not coming back to you. Not again.

because I have decided that
there is nothing more beautiful
than healing my sleeping soul,
not you, not the scars, not the pain.

not even her wavy hair,
like happy coconut branches
swaying in the wind,
not even her heart.

because this time, love,
i'm the road you're travelling on,
i'm the mountain you're climbing,
i'm the light you're chasing.
‎
And for once, you'll be the shadow.

• Chinmay Manoj