THE FOLLOWING POEM WAS SELECTED IN WINGWORD POETRY PRIZE 2023 LONGLIST.

He stepped into the metro

While I temporarily forgot how to breathe

As our eyes locked,

A smile threatened to wreathe

Be it at work, or even before going to sleep

I, now know I may have looked like a dork

But all the younger me thought was about the insanely beautiful him

I was all too glad when the next day deja vu hit me again

But he sat beside me and suddenly I had a composure to regain

It took weeks for me to finally talk

And for him to not me a discombobulated me every morning

Albeit he smiled through it all

The idea of him liking me back died aborning

Alas no one can guess what the future holds,

‘Cause even a lost case like me found myself being confessed to by a guy

The same guy who was the reason I started believing in love at first sight

I couldn’t be more than happy when 20 years later

The spoons were left with a clatter

I found myself in front of the kids with the room filled with chatter

And I ended our fascinating tale as I said,

“That’s how I met your father.”