the art of romance

zahra | hopeless romantic with a mind full of bad poetry

[gulabies]

your glances flush my face. 

with the redness of all the roses. 

[modern-anarkali-deactivated2023]

Do cup chai, main aur aap.

Nahi maangti ab main duniya ki saari safaltayein,

Na hi maangti hun koi aisho-aaraam.

Kuch iss kadar badal diya hai aapne humein,

Pehle haathon se coffee nhi chhut ti thi,

Ab maangti hun bas aapki banayi hui chai ka aaram.

Kehte hain,

Coffee agar jism ki pyaas hai,

Toh chai mohobbat ka ehsaas.

Aasmanon mein udne ki tadap thi mujhe,

Aapke saath yun dharti bhi ab jannat si lagne lagi hai.

Bas itni si khwahish hai,

Agar poori kar sakein joh aap,

Do cup chai, aur main aur aap.

Bas main aur aap, sirf main aur aap.

aakanksha

[gulabies]

idk mendel was onto something with those pea plants of his

[gulabies]

and may was made for them. the hopeless romantics and lovers. the girls that dance in the rain and pick flowers and write love letters. it was for the grieving who found solace in the blossoms of spring. the may that held their hand through it all.

[gulabies]

I don’t want this may to pass without you.

[gulabies]

yin and yang

a thing of beauty

when you smiled

and my lips curved up

unknowingly.

[hwhwgwhnwnwbwbwg-deactivated202]

“And I do nothing but dream everyday that at last I shall meet someone. Oh, if only you knew how often I have been in love in that way.”

-Fyoder Dostoyevsky

[gulabies]

paint me a picture, lover. of our memories

make me a movie, lover. about our tragedies. 

write me a letter, lover. of the sweetest somethings. 

lover, kiss me forever. 

[gulabies]

unbelonging

I don't belong anywhere, not really. my life's become a bunch of pieces, the parts scattered around my world. I haven't been whole for awhile. I don't think I will be anytime soon. It's a really interesting phenomenon, a sense of sticking out everywhere, or fitting in too much. Confined yet free. I don't like it. And yet, I do. I love it a lot.

[gulabies]

I always dreamed of being a hopeless romantic, writing letters and longing.

Well, in the modern day its more life drafting tumblr posts and blankly staring at your phone waiting for a text.

What they don't tell you about romanticism is its loneliness. I don't want to be a hopeless romantic anymore. I want people to notice me. I want him to notice me. I can't stand by and watch anymore.

[gulabies]

mixed feelings

I don't know him. At all.

But I saw him one day in class. That day changed my life. He doesn't even know that. I wish he knew that.

I wish he knew how much I think about him. Think about what we could be. Think about all the ways I want him to ask me to be his. Think about all the things we could do together.

I think I talked to him once. My hands shaking, heart pounding. Did he know? Did he know how much courage it took me to talk to him? Or how many times I rehearsed what I was going to say? Did he know I almost melted as he glanced over at me confusedly?

I wish I hadn't stuttered that day. I even forgot to ask his name. I told him he looked familiar. I just wanted him to remember me. I like to think he still thinks about me.

Now I'm on break. I'm never going to see him again. Ever.

[gulabies]

expectations

I have this expectation,

of an epic romance

in which we love each other

life in a ballroom dance

I have this expectation,

of a twisted life

where our troubled pasts

converge and die.

My expectations rise

upon reading romance

feelings towards you

growing with caution.

Fulfill my expectations

my idea of we

carry my wounds

more importantly my love towards thee.

[gulabies]

infatuation

I saw you in class with a grin plastered on your face as your friend joked. Smiling suited you.

A few days later I got on the bus and made eye contact with you, although you didn't think much of it.

I kept seeing you around, wanting to see you. I waited for you, hoped for you.

Today I even talked to you. It wasn't like me, to stutter that much. I hoped you didn't get the wrong impression.

Truth be told, I don't even like you that much. I don't even know you that well. I don't know your name or your age.

All I know is I remember seeing you smile and wanting to see it more. I want to see it again.

[gulabies]

what do you think of

when the sun sets

and the sky is set ablaze

in infinite colors of orange?

[gulabies]

fall has fell,

and went by faster than ever.

I miss it,

leaves crunching beneath my feet

occasional brisk winds slapping my cheeks.

autumn is gone,

forever I will long for her.

[gulabies]

He breathed in the scent of me, sweat laced with the sweetness of impossibly sweet strawberries.

He exhaled, desire laced behind the air lingering at my ear.

His hand moved towards a growing pulse between my legs and I pulled his hair until he bit the space where my neck and shoulder connect.

I’ve never felt more connected to a person than then.

[gulabies]

he lifted her hair to see the nape of her neck, the way it curved in so effortlessly.

he kissed her once, and once more for good measure.