Ode to the Ones Who Almost Happened
By Sabyasachi Roy
We meet at the intersections:
a half-finished WhatsApp draft,
an unopened window,
a seat on the wrong train.
You were the bruise
I got from bumping into a maybe.
We danced—
me with both feet on the emergency brake,
you rehearsing your exit smile.
What were we?
Just two echo chambers
sending voice notes into the fog.
Your shadow still argues with my bedsheets,
calls me by mistake
at deep late night.
to breathe for six seconds, then hang up.
I should block you.
But even ghosts need
an internet connection
sometimes.
Sabyasachi Roy is an academic writer, poet, artist, and photographer. His poetry has appeared in Viridine Literary, The Broken Spine, Stand, Poetry Salzburg Review, The Potomac, and more. He contributes craft essays to Authors Publish and has a cover image in Sanctuary Asia. His oil paintings have been published in The Hooghly Review.