Falling in love 

Once again I fell in love,

This time with a romantic nerd,

A poet whose Romanticized,

the verse for the Singer, 

Brushed a blank canvas in vivid hues, 

creating an artistic Mesmer,

made me smile, blush, cry, laugh, think

and feel comfortable in my own skin. 

While his love amazes the toddler, 

Comforts the confused child, 

And soothe the broken girl in me, 

He Respects the woman I am.

As he plays with my hair,

I see a confidant

Who knows who he is, 

man who owns his scars,

Selfish enough to love himself,

connecting with my soul. 

As he holds me tight,

In unhesitant hugs and kisses, 

Cold and unwavering 

To those judgemental gazes,  

I realize, 

or rather recognize,

His love for me, 

Was neither for me 

Nor for the sake of it, 

But solely for himself.

-Anamika Sulekha, is a postdoctoral fellow researching drug discovery and cancer therapy at the Institute of Research in Immunology and Cancer, Montreal, Canada. Born and brought up in India, I have been writing poems since my school days.