Nocturne for the Unpromised
By Ajeeti S
I never learned the alphabet of vows—
only the rhythm of locks in a parent’s hands,
the rust-stitched smell of unopened letters.
Rain taught me more than mouths ever did:
fall, vanish, expect nothing in return.
I walked away tonight from restlessness,
a glassless window pacing inside me.
Streets stretched like unrolled bandages—
each lamplight a slow, bleeding eye.
No destination, simply motion
to keep from sinking through the steam.
Then: the stars, like some relics—
scattered shimmers at a distance
buried in the black for no god’s sake.
One pulsed.—a strained, deliberate pulse.
A moth’s breath on my wrist.
I stopped.
Something unscripted moved inside the stillness.
Not belief. Not yet. Maybe its oldest cousin.
The air smelled faintly of iron and violets.
Somewhere a gate was thinking of opening.
I stood,
for once,
not guarding against the beautiful.
Ajeeti S is an emerging poet whose deeply emotional and heartfelt verses have earned acclaim in numerous national poetry competitions and have been published in esteemed anthologies and literary journals across India and internationally. Trained as an engineer and working as a bank manager, she inhabits the unique intersection of logic and imagination—an ideal space for poetry to flourish. Also a talented artist and craftswoman, Ajeeti infuses her creative works with the same sensitivity and depth that define her poetry, bringing color and soul to everything she creates.