Souvenir

By Garvita Srivastava

I stopped in front of the mirror again today, something caught my eye
Your indentations on my skin, the scars and bruises you left behind
As if they are your trophies screaming in my head, reminding me
That you still possess me, you still rule this body – it carries my soul every day.

 

I try so hard to wash them off, to peel those marks off
So that for once I can look at myself, without being reminded of your sins.

 

I wish I could buy a new vessel to hold my spirit and soul
For it fears residing in this body, a butchered, haunted house
That smells of rotten flesh and spilled blood where each corner is a reminder of your crime.

 

I still feel your nails scratching, your teeth biting over and over
I hear my screams and groans again and those cries cave in on me
Make me lose my sanity and the only escape I find is to cover this body
With the colourful clothes, I buy to hide the stories of torment.

 

How do you heal from a past like that?
How do you reclaim this throne?

 

This body that no longer feels my own but of someone who left it battered
In the middle of an empty field, bleeding, for the other vultures to strip
Whatever was still left of skin

 

Garvita Srivastava from India is a poet and a freelance writer from New Delhi, India. Her work was recently featured in an anthology, 'Guldastaa - A Bouquet of Poems'published by Notion Press, India. She is a co-content creator for a couple of websites. She has finished work on her first anthology and is currently looking for publishers while also working on her second anthology, a couple of theme poetry projects, and her blog.