You can’t have it all

Will I get an offer?

Tonight? Tomorrow?

And if I don’t, will there be sorrow?

What will my friends think if I fail?

They do in Ivy League so well…

Though- I don’t even like that course,

It wouldn’t be too great a loss.

I will still have my career,

Dream big and always steer

Towards success.

But you can’t have it all

What if I end up sorting papers,

Stamping files and serve and cater?

I need to take more time to hustle,

Refine my perfect picture puzzle.

Work hard, play less.

But you can’t have it all.

Will I be happy? Have a boyfriend?

And will someone dear hold my hand?

Guys do not put back for girls,

I am too busy to have kids;

Will not experience this bliss.

It's not enough,

I'm my own judge,

And I am never satisfied,

Whatever I do its never right,

I want it all and nothing less.

And that is why I can’t get rest.

The streets are cleaner. Smoking: an absurdity of the past now reserved for the extravagant and the reckless.

The bus stops reek of alcohol. The smell is not attached to the young coming home from an adventurous night, nor the homeless. Every morning a wet film covers the seats like dew.

The driver sits behind a plastic shield. Passengers keep to themselves. Too internalized the distance. Mumbling towards their phones. Wiping them once in a while. The textile industry has commercialized more inches of skin. Rose petals, dots or patterns cover nose and mouth.

The passing shop windows are covered in adverts. Discounts, clearance sales, to let signs in red and yellow. Even the lady at the window makes do with her spring coat.

A breeze invites the leaves to dance. A cat is lolling about in the sun on the bench. The park has flourished in life. Its beauty humbles the eyes of visitors and the oak has not lost its dress yet.