I met my younger self for a coffee date

I met my younger self for coffee she arrived ten minutes late,

I hugged her she ordered her favorite chocolate cake\

As I gulped her innocence through the lens of my present eyes,

Her beauty gasped through the crevices of enamoured sighs.

--

I asked for an iced latte with less sugar as she gazed at me with a concerning sight,

Do you make it through college, she asked me in an exasperated light,

Smiling through my glance, I tell her not to worry as it all works out for the better,

Our dream of working as a writer finally comes true, I joyously tell her.

--

Did we finally find the group of friends who love us, she excitedly asked,

I told her no and she said ohh, her anxiety of not having true friends she hid behind the silent mask.

Smile! my beautiful girl! We have loved and we have lost, with people leaving our side,

Only to find the true ones who make every breath of our mortality alive.

--

Gleefully chirping with zeal, she shed a tear of joy as she knew what it meant,

To find the ones who love us for who we are, for holding us the accolades of melancholy and merriment.

As I embraced my childhood in its mirthful stance, I told her to have courage and hope behold,

The girl who read tales of valour became the woman who weaved a yarn of words that millions waited to be told.

--

As I met my younger self for coffee, I basked in her innocence and sensitivity.

Telling her to hold them with pride.

Because that is what makes her beautiful, the light that through her words radiates a million strides.

-Hridya Sharma