Spriha Dharan

before i could remember

part 2 ~nine~ You watched yourself bleed, red blossoming against a manilla pillow. Your teacher walked you to the nurse’s office, where you cried tears of humiliation. Am I dying? You asked yourself. Am I dying? ~ten~ The year your grandfather passed away. ~eleven~ The year you thought you would receive your Hogwarts letterContinue reading “before i could remember”

before i could remember

part 1 ~nothing~ Something even the Greeks couldn’t understand. The pulsing of my mother’s womb—turbid and hollow; slick like the sound of a pallet struck against a gong. Empty. Pristine. It was like coming out of a vacuum where the white silence that cloaked you in the womb was drowned out by the obtrusive somethingness,Continue reading “before i could remember”

coffee for a dreamer

I went for a walk today; sought out the well-rounded roast accentuated with notes of blackberry, dark chocolate, and other flavors that were advertised proudly on the side of the canister. I hunted the generous cascade of half n half, or better yet, a sweetened creamer to soften the earthy flavors of my morning beverage.Continue reading “coffee for a dreamer”

The Writer’s Struggle

I think that most writers can attest to the fact that the act of sitting down to write is no easy feat. On one hand, there is immense joy in creating something beautiful, and on the other, you are plagued with endless internal criticism and self-doubt. What if my writing is not good enough? WhatContinue reading “The Writer’s Struggle”

The Beautiful & Damned

F. Scott Fitzgerald I cannot precisely recall the moment I first decided to pick up this book. Perhaps I was driven by my urge to enter the rampant cynicism and alcoholism of the Jazz Age—prominent in all of Fitzgerald’s work. Or maybe, like all other pretentious literary nerds out there, I believed it held someContinue reading “The Beautiful & Damned”

Let Me Trace Your Heart

Let me trace your heartWith fingers that do not shakeI know your soul is fragileBut I promise it won’t break.Let me see your woundsLay them open and lay them bare…It’s been so long since poetry Has flowed from these lipsLet me share…Show me your ocean eyesAnd if they spiral or shatter like glassI’ll beg youContinue reading “Let Me Trace Your Heart”

Song of 3 Crows Excerpt-

This is an excerpt from a longer story I wrote as part of my senior capstone. I used a hybrid medium of prose, free-verse poetry, and art. I’ve attached 2 poems below: Monsoon.Shiva is dancing. His feet strike the gates of heavenAnd the earth shudders. Fear sizzles through my veinswhen i hear Her cry;in aContinue reading “Song of 3 Crows Excerpt-“

Remember: An excerpt

This is an Excerpt from a story I recently wrote. I appreciate all and any feedback. If you are interested in reading more, let me know because the plot certainly thickens… Remember In the house, there are ghosts. In the house of a body. In the house of a secret. In the house of aContinue reading “Remember: An excerpt”

Loving the Anti-Hero:

I still remember when I read Crime and Punishment for the first time, and discovered newfound empathy for someone who had committed a brutal act, both unacceptable and impermissible by society: murder. Fast forward on year later, and I sat down to watch YOU, a Netflix original series based on Caroline Kepler’s original novel. ItContinue reading “Loving the Anti-Hero:”

The Emperor of Gladness

“Because to remember is to fill the present with the past, which meant that the cost of remembering anything, anything at all, is life itself. We murder ourselves, he thought, by remembering” -Ocean Vuong, The Emperor of Gladness “The hardest thing in the world is to only live once,” Ocean Vuong writes. These opening linesContinue reading “The Emperor of Gladness”