Lighthouse by Praniti Gulyani (17, India)

what if I tell you – 
that the lighthouse towering 
on the seashore 
with a painted chest 
and square shaped eyes
is nothing but 
a well written poem

---

the slender waist 
is a frilly line 
handpicked from the heart 
of a lover’s ballad 

​the broad shoulders 
are muscular verses 
taken from the narratives 
of nightly valor 

the colorful shades 
are scribbles peeled off 
a child’s art paper 

the misty, square-shaped eyes
are the fogged up letters 
teetering on the lenses 
of a mother’s spectacles 

as she reads a letter 
from a son at war
who says he may 
not return

and the light 
on the top
is the soft sunshine 
of a subtle smile 
as the poet knots herself
into her words 

​