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I never liked your beanie

A light-grey surface with faded and yellowed postcards and papers, A small pile of papers and books is tied with string. There is a black fountain pen and an ink bottle is out of focus in one corner.
By Hritvika Lakhera Fiction & Poetry Humour and Sexuality May 4, 2023

I only ever read your letters
to learn what patterns to avoid
in future relationships.
I never read that Nicholas Sparks book
but one day it fell open on the page
where you had highlighted a marriage proposal.
Oh honey, we were too young to marry.
That pen you gave me
as a symbol of a promise –
it had no ink – and I wonder
at how apt that was.
I threw it out.
What to do though with the gift
of your memories?

I left those to my therapist.

Cover Image: Photo by Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash

Hritvika Lakhera / About Author
Hritvika Lakhera is a queer poet from Uttarakhand, India, writing on the subjects of queerness, disability, nature, and surrealism. In her professional pursuits she takes academic interest in punk rock. Along with two published anthologies, she also co-founded an international punk zine titled 'New Riot Inc.'
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