JASPREET MANN

Between Your Breaths

For a moment, stop,
let me be the pause
between your sighs,
the secret held
on the curve of your lip.
I will wait in the hush of your throat,
a lantern trembling before it is lit,
the dark silk of midnight
aching for the brush of dawn.
Your skin carries the scent of rivers
before they surrender to the sea,
your breath the warmth of pomegranates
split open in the heat of summer.
Touch me as though the night were fragile,
as though each shadow
were an orchard in bloom.
I am the silence you lean into,
the moonlight that burns,
waiting,
always waiting,
for the fever of daylight.

Jaspreet Mann is a writer, poet, and educator, deeply immersed in the world of literature. With a distinguished career in teaching English Literature, she has dedicated herself to shaping young minds across the globe. Her literary journey began with the publication of her first poetry collection, Monsoon Showers, by Writers Workshop, Calcutta, marking her entry into the literary world with the same evocative intensity as the monsoon rains she so vividly captures in her verses. Over the years, Mann has authored eleven poetry collections, a collection of short stories, and three novels, each work a testament to her mastery in weaving the nuances of human emotion with the richness of diverse cultural landscapes. Her writing transcends borders, forging connections between readers from different backgrounds through the universal language of sentiment, reflection, and artistic expression.