(like a kid loves a flower and tends to it who waits for it to bloom but then plucks it.
like a middle-aged woman who tries to decorate her empty nest but donates the extra furniture to get rid of all that emptiness.
like an octogenarian knitting new sweaters with her shaking fingers and fading memory by unraveling wool from old ones.)
…you think I do. for everyone, it’s different sometimes love can become a weakness.
the problem is you love me now for a wildness that can not be tamed. you love me in your spilling youth and right now even though I’ll never let you see it all I have is me right now I can’t share what’s left.
so I tried to experiment with colours here, WILD, right?!
it wasn’t like that before, the thorns on her bleeding heart were new. he gave her roses, she put them in her favourite vase, but like all good things that made her feel special, the flowers wilted too soon. the petals formed patterns on the floor, and the wind blew them away, nothing remained.
she wore her heart on her sleeve and kept the arteries in her pocket.
when it was time to throw out the stems and the grungy water, she got pin-pricks all over her, stained her perfectly dry-cleaned shirt.
it was a tale as old as time, as she tried to love someone worlds apart. that’s how she ended up with a badly stung heart.
The people who can just perfectly draw something on paper or digitally are THE COOLEST people ever. Here’s a little something I drew in the hopes of being that cool.
(The title worst-stung heart is from a prose piece by Mary Oliver in her book Upstream. Due to copyrights, I don’t know if I can include that here.)
Crystal clear glass panes gazing back at her with empty eyes, the concrete jungle bustles by whilst her lonesome spirit dies.
Reaching out for the reflective barrier in front of her, a certain numbness travels through her fingertips and makes its way to her soul; dimming the tolerance for mindless city chatter in a flourescent flickering that never sleeps.
Discontent reverberated through her cells, well-versed with the heedless world. Restlessness of the hive and way of life shadowed now, behind her. Cotton-candy clouds underneath, the plane wings splitting through a canopy of white to unveil itself as the thick atmosphere dissipates. Lowering and lowering, the plane wings glide through foreign tree tops, a green she had not yet been blessed to witness.
Stepping into the rustic air, the concrete on which her heels tap reminds her of the past heavier than the luggage she carries on her arm.
From one transport vehicle to the next, she makes her way to the hills. Entranced by the viridescent shimmer of conifers and sprouting weeds, from the pocket of her jeans, she swaps her hand to trace the rough exterior of the trees. None of the city maps could have led her here but she’ll need one to leave. Is that what it’s like to be free?
She lost herself betwixt ever changing leaves, heady among the trees. She wept joyously beneath the wild skies as she saw the stars shining brightly. They shone and debuted stories of ancient times. She pinched herself, she could not live an ordinary life with an undisclosed universe camouflaged from her eyes.
Towing her luggage she knew they wondered why she left, toher but an alien, to them an alien species to her. In this clearing she knew that they were not sharing light, the glaring hive was sharing fears.
– Amber + Aarushi (the Concrete Jungle Liberation squad)
Thank you so much for reading! Writing this was such a great experience, we hope you like this as much as we do. REM-AMBER that Love is the answer!
You whisper sweet somethings to me when I’m weak, You do the talking for me when I can’t speak.
The thought of you keeps me company, I find comfort even in your critique. Your soul upon mine, Melds into something unique.
What if love is more than emotions in its entirety? Maybe love is more than you and me entirely? The music of your aura is the answer, The force behind my smile, the dreamy dancer.
You’re still with me no matter my imperfection, It’s the beauty in the way you stay for my protection. Maybe we’ll meet in some other dimension, For now, you’re just my reflection. Standing in the mirror, revealing who I should be And loving this version that I see.
I am whole, you were my missing peace, I see you in me, I hear you within. Anchor your heart here and leave it down, You’ll always be there if I ever start to drown.
– Ace + Aarushi (the dreamy dancers)
I’m so excited to present this COLLABOR-ACE-TION with the one and only, Ace.
We had such a fun time writing this, hope you liked it too. Thank you so much for reading!
of pen & paints 