Poem by Ayushi Rana

I am Sorry

Life’s easy
when you have a father to feed,
a mother to call in need.
But there are kids on hostel floors,
sitting with empty bowls,
licking off false hopes,
surviving in cigarette smokes.
They cry on college benches,
they sleep in deep trenches,
betting their lives
like they bet their money--
living on knives,
and it slips off like honey.
Life’s easy
when you do not look for money,
when you get things for free,
when you do not raise a GoFundMe,
because Daddy’s there, sweet bunny.
But there is a kid in need,
hungry but does not plead--
because he is ashamed,
and he is afraid.
He has friends in need,
but they are not friends indeed.
Their alcohol sufficing his thirst--
no one stops him,
no one to trust.
Life’s easy
when you have a mother to sleep beside,
and a father building your reside.
But then there is he,
and then there is me--
wishing him good night,
but he cannot sleep,
because he did not eat.
Cannot cry anymore,
no kick left in his feet.
Like a lullaby to growls,
music feeds their hunger.
Yeah, it does not kill them...
But do they need to be stronger?
I wish I could feed you,
but I do not even know you.
I wish I was there,
or you had someone to care.
But I cannot.
I am sorry.
Life’s easy
for me.

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BIO: Ayushi Rana is a 19-year-old aspiring writer from India who uses poetry to process social inequity, loneliness, and longing. She writes emotionally raw pieces driven by empathy, guilt, and personal witness.