Day and Night, poem written by Labanya Shroff.

DAY AND NIGHT
If life is a movie, then I play, and abruptly switch between two contradictory characters,
Like day and night.

One is bright and vibrant,
A painter, who paints life’s canvas with colors of bliss,
A selenophile who admires the moon like she does animals,
Her smile is carefree and her laughter untamed,
It is impossible for her to be caged withing monotonous rules,
And to be stopped by something as insignificant as fear,
For love is all she knows in a world full of hatred.

But as the sun surrenders and twilight casts its spell,
I transform into a shadow, a creature of the darker dwell,
A wailing monster putting in herculean efforts to seize her light,
To become less like itself and more like that ethereal radiance, shining so bright.
But the closer it got to her the farther she drove away,
because hate was all it knew, and pain was all it felt.

Now trapped in the role of this sorrowful monster, I yearn for the
Selenophile’s embrace of darkness— the darkness where I reside.

Life’s movie plays on, and I continue to portray,
These conflicting characters bound within my own display,
But within this intricate performance, I seek understanding and release,
To find harmony between these warring souls, and grant my heart’s peace.

                                                                                                                     - Labanya Shroff.