by Tanushree Nag
The ridges of my palms
tell a tale of a life lived
and a life yet to live.
Those palms which wrapped tightly
around my mother’s fingers—
those palms which gripped the pen which
taught me to write and express.
The wrinkles on the back of my hands
tell me how far I’ve come
each valley depicting a story lost in history.
As I grey and wither
and my body turns to ash
the cycle of cradle to grave
Renews
as I live a life
born of another mother
in new skin.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tanushree Nag is a young poet, singer and songwriter from London. Her poetry has been published on the Royal Society of Literature website and she won the Jack Petchey Songwriting Competition in 2020 for her inspirational song “Pave the Way.” Her love for poetry started at a young age as she would use her writing to address current affairs and issues that she was passionate about. She is a mental health advocate and has recently won an international public speaking competition where she spoke about the detrimental effects of social media on youth mental health. She hopes to publish her poetry in an anthology in the future and continues to publish her writing in her school’s student run newsletter and her online blog.