The Poet Behind the Words

Shivaanshi, Young Poetry Author

Reading poetry was something she did not feel particularly drawn to. Yet writing would redefine her from a young age, leading her to become a poet with her debut poetry book, “Mortals of Forever”.

Shivaanshi felt that there was a big gap between her and poetry; she could not relate and find pieces that reflected her life or gave her a voice. This led to her putting pen to paper for the first time to create her own pieces and beginning a journey full of challenges and opportunities, through which she would explore herself and the world.

“Mortals of Forever” is the name of her first poetry book released this summer. Initially it was a new and strange experience for her because she was still trying to figure out how to engage with it. Poems were scrapped, rewritten, edited, and drafted. Alongside them came doubts, vulnerability and confusion that brought to life this book. Furthermore, she says that in poetry authors do not just include their ideas about certain topics but they also leave pieces of themselves in their work, pieces that remain forever. However, for her that was a great challenge as she was hesitant to reveal deeply personal experiences of her own life to the public, and thus she struggled to find the ideal poems to include in the book.

One poem that haunted me personally was “Hourglass”, which radiates a strong sense of nostalgia and change. “There is something cruel about an hourglass because you can actually watch time leaving” she explains. For her, the hourglass eerily captures the feeling of time slipping through your hands, knowing that you cannot stop it, for what makes it unsettling. Adding to this, she says that even though we know very well that our time is limited, we find ourselves being attached to people, places, and moments that cannot stay with us forever.

Every grain once carried a face, a favourite song, a hand it could not bear to lose.

Another poem of hers which shares the book’s title opens up about time and love. This poem offers a glimpse into something larger and raises a broader question: should we remain hesitant to show love to people because others did not appreciate it? Though she acknowledges this disappointment, she believes that love should be shown to people who share our values, asking, “Who are you without a heart?” All these ideas have influenced her, leading her to understand that we ought to live in the moment and stop constantly worrying about the past and future.

Poetry ultimately became for her a way to write about her thoughts without the need to explain them all the time. It is a fact that every person forms their own interpretation of a poem, and that is why poetry is so magical and weird at the same time. She hopes the readers remember the words that made them feel something and not necessarily the person behind them.