My words

comfort me and

maybe, they can help you too.

Maybe, this is all we can hope for.

These marks on paper and screen

and those spoken

to another heart and ear

that is sometimes caring

and sometimes not

and sometimes both.

I am living with the alphabets

and what they create

and the spaces between them.

There can be a quiet joy here.

There is refuge.

I hope you find both too.

Ronita Chattopadhyay (she/her) is an Indian poet who finds refuge in words. Her poems and prose have appeared in numerous online literary magazines in her country and elsewhere. This includes The Hooghly Review, Roi Fainéant Press, Akéwì Magazine, Setu, RIC Journal, Porch Lit Magazine and in online and print anthologies by Querencia Press and Sídhe Press. She also journeys with words in her work while supporting not for profit organisations in India. And she loves books, mountains and tea.