we have survived winter before

by Aishwarya Jha

When the cold cartilage of November

wore our fingers like gloves

and those we loved most

bleached into silence

that once grew song

amidst tulle mists

the echoes of a favorite 

dress and the crisp 

lash of betrayal

against our cheeks quenching

the sun

succulents to wrap

around our tongues, formerly 

named Spring, now septic 

and sequestered

from pleasure

in the ligatures of

flambéing logs a weary

prophecy: they both burn,

fire and ice, passion and

passion, a pillaged pit

of a world we could never save

we could never hold

so we held ourselves and 

each other 

steady

steady we stay

in fathoms we remember:

we have survived before

we will make it through again.

Aishwarya Jha is a writer, designer, and entrepreneur from New Delhi, India.  Her work was recently included in a digital anthology by Oxford University and has previously appeared in multiple literary journals, including Atticus Review.  Her award-winning one-act plays have been performed in cities around the world, in addition to being taught at workshops.  Her debut novel will be published in 2024 and she is working on her second as part of the Asian Women Writers program.