SIREN CALL

Oh, sirens who entrap all,

Hear this desperate plea.

Don't bewitch me with your haunting voice,

For I am just a lone sailor lost in the sea.

I have traversed through treacherous waters,

Fought the mightiest of storms.

But why does your voice make me lose myself,

Making me forget who I am or where I am from.

Stop tormenting me so,

Stop alluring me with your lethal charms.

You are my ruin, a threat to my very existence,

So why do I still come to you, fully aware that you are causing me harm?

I am lost; I am confused.

All my courage seems to have drowned in the depths of the sea.

Your voice is all I hear now.

Making me losing all will and strength to break free.

Many have fallen in to your mesmeric trap,

I am just another tragic victim of this fate.

I am naïve to think I will survive you,

But I still try, try to destroy your gripping control on me, before it's too late.

Such is the fickle nature of us mortals,

We get easily caught in your deadly trance.

Forget our goal, our so called purpose.

Just to sink in your fatal arms.

I beseech you, sirens,

Have mercy on me.

I have my own journey to complete,

A journey to fulfill my destiny.

Take my food, take my gold,

For whatever its worth, take all I have to offer.

But let me pass just this once,

Let me survive this hex that has destroyed others.

This is my final call to you,

Don't stop me from going on my path.

Before your enchantment grabs hold of me,

Let me stay true to my heart.

Oh, sirens who entrap all,

Hear this desperate plea.

Don't bewitch me with your haunting voice,

For I am just a lone sailor lost in the sea.

Riddhima Majawadia

WHEN TIME STOOD STILL

For days, I watched the same four walls,

The same old ceiling, the same silent calls.

One bed, one window, one familiar view,

While life moved outside, as it always knew.

No roads beneath me, no evening walks,

No distant journeys, no endless talks.

The footsteps I once took without a thought,

Became a freedom I suddenly sought.

Days felt longer, and nights felt still,

Time seemed frozen against my will.

But somewhere within that quiet space,

I learned that nothing remains in the same place.

Pain changes, seasons turn, and moments move,

Even the darkest hours slowly improve.

What feels endless today will someday pass,

Like rain disappearing from a window glass.

My body was still, but my dreams could fly,

I travelled through memories beneath the sky.

And slowly, step by step, I began to heal,

Discovering how precious ordinary moments feel.

Now I know—time never chooses to stay;

It carries every sorrow and silence away.

Sometimes life makes us pause for a while,

Only to teach us the meaning of a smile.

Muzamil Arif