HOURGLASS
ALM No.84, January 2026
POETRY
Hourglass
I'm still at the café
Drinking my regular coffee
Still Turing the pages of my unread book
The chair is still empty
The phone is still unlocked
The call is still going
And I'm still waiting for you
I'm still at the café
Looking out at the chilling weather
Still smiling at strangers
Just because someone fell for my smile
I'm still at the café
I've only tried one drink here
The music is still the same
But somehow the taste of my coffee deferred
But somehow the music changed
I’m still at the same spot
With the same unread book
I'm still at the same Café
But I was asked what I'd take for the first time
But the new building blocked my favorite view
When it just got sold to be something new
I'm still at the café
The same spot with a different name
The chair is still empty
Somehow humming to the same music I liked
The voicemail is still playing
And I'm still waiting for you
Sweetness In Sorrow
The rain became my sorrow
A witness to my trauma
A strain on my life
And a lump in my throat
It used to carry joyous moments,
Now it remains contaminated
With the foul occurrence of adversity
It now brings void to my life
Living in the rain, an elusive thought for me
That’s somewhat out of people’s understanding
No matter the thought, as much of it I despise
My fate, it decided to write otherwise
At the same dire of a state
As I quiver at the hands of my foe
You walk in as a shield in my life
Becoming my solace in the storm
An affectionate and resilient umbrella
A steady hand to hold
And the day you decided to become an ally in my abyss
Than that day, the rain, it became my sweet nemesis
Trisha Ghimire is an emerging and a young writer and a poet from Nepal. At just fourteen, she explores the world through a deeply emotional lens, finding poetry in everything around her. She writes free-verse poems, nature-inspired pieces, narrative poems and deeply emotional and resonating work. Trisha also enjoys song writing and story writing that captures feelings that often goes unspoken.