If I Had Never Been Born
(Content warning: Intense themes as suggested by the title)
.
.
.
If I had never been born–
The coffee pot would still hum,
The dishes would stack in quiet rows,
People would smile, still fight,
Still lost in their own rhythms.
Perhaps their laughter would ring truer,
Their nights lighter,
Without the burden of my presence.
They’d have been better off,
In ways they’ll never say.
I’d be an email in the spam folder,
A request that never reached the desk,
Forever absent,
A speck of dust on a moth-eaten book,
A step you skipped in a hurry
Unnoticed.
Maybe it would be better,
Maybe not.
But the universe spins regardless,
In its reckless, unfeeling dance,
Leaving me here,
Still breathing,
Wondering if the world would have been kinder
If I had never been born,
Or if it would have simply carried on,
Like a plot in a book
With worn-out tropes.
And yet, here I am,
A footnote in this infinite story,
Waiting…
@azurePond
If she had not been born the sun would still have rose,
But it's warmth and majesty would only speak in prose.
Pages would remain un-inked, dusty, old and tired,
Those who never read her words were ever uninspired.
The world would turn, tides would flow, days go on and on,
Yet we would feel her absence though could not what's wrong.
Something would be missing but we would not know it.
Pining for the never born AzurePond, our poet.
@BastionKnight I feel like I've just been knighted (that's by the Queen, right?) So... like I've been promoted in ranks by the highest-ranking knight (Grandmaster in the Templar Knights). Thank you for the poem; I’m truly honored.
@azurePond
Arise Knight AzurePond, Champion of Words and Defender of Emotion's Gates.
@azurePond the world is harsh and cruel🙁 but from it comes pure'ness and beauty🙂 just like your poems, your words that echoes through so manys minds, just waiting for a clever poet to bring their minds to light💗 your poems are beauty and they do just that💗 sad but amazing poem 👏👏 hugs you tightly 💗
@Tinywhisper11 Thank you Tinywhisper for your kind words and hugs!💖
Beautiful
@BlatantHonesty Thank you <3
@azurePond ;-; <3
@BlueDarkAurora :) <3
@azurePond
I’m one of those people who read footnotes coz professors tend to give exam questions based from footnotes *trade secret* Maybe we’re all footnotes after all.
Ah existentialism, questioning our existence and the humdrums loops of life and how life would continue seamlessly without a missing piece.
But what really struck me is the shift toward the end. The quiet resignation, the realization that the universe doesn’t pause for anyone, it just spins, uncaring, moving forward whether we are here or not.
Your poem moves and grooves, Azure. A moveable piece, a wordplay on Hemingway’s Moveable Feast.
@ZenArashi Thank you so much for this thoughtful response, Zen. There’s something oddly comforting about the universe spinning on, indifferent to our presence—almost like a quiet permission to exist without the burden of being irreplaceable.
And I think, we share the footnote-reading habit! Not just for exam questions, but for the extra reading and reference materials. (Guess we are not as good as Coca Cola when it comes to trade secrets)
Anyway...I’m really glad the poem resonated with you, and I truly appreciate your kind words. Also, I caught the "Moveable Feast " reference—loved that! Thanks again.
Apart from the style (unmistakably yours), that is almost something I could've written. I have also pondered the brute fact that the world can get along just fine without my existence, or that of any person in particular... Years ago, somewhere I read a poem that began with mankind saying to the universe at large, "Sir, I exist!"...the reply was something like "So I see, but that does not inspire me with a sense of obligation."
@slowdecline48 I really appreciate your comment— it means a lot that my poem resonated with you. There is a certain solace in knowing that these thoughts are not just mine or yours but something many of us have pondered. I googled the poem you mentioned... It is - A Man Said to the Universe by Stephen Crane. Thanks for introducing me to the poem.
Sometimes, I do feel that the indifference of the universe is suffocating but other times, it is strangely a relaxing thought. Like , universe does not demand anything from you (low expectations, low pressure - Pascal's law or something). Then maybe the universe may not owe us meaning, maybe the stars don’t notice our laughter but friends do. Maybe galaxies won’t remember our names, but loved ones will. Indifference is cosmic but ..... empathy, passion and engagement .... those are profoundly human. Maybe the universe does not care.. But who cares? .. There are people who care instead! So we are here... absurdly,,,together and that is enough to build a world on (I’m feeling strangely hopeful at the moment so I am leaving this here as a reminder—for myself and for anyone else who might need it)
@azurePond yes, had you not been born, the earth would revolve around sun the same. the stars would twinkle the same. the moon would come up the same. the world would have been the same place we're living on, maybe as kind as it is today, but there would still remain a missing piece, a piece that would've made the kind world even kinder with her words, a piece that was beautiful to light up anyone around her with words, a piece that won't have completed the world but the world would have been incomplete without her.
@suu1309 That is one of the kindest, most beautiful things anyone has ever said to me. I don’t know if I can believe it for myself, but I do know that reading it made something deep inside me feel a little less lost, a little less undeserving. But for this moment... I’ll try to hold on to your words, even if a part of me still wants to reject them. Thank you suuu1309—for seeing me in a way I can’t always see myself🥹
@azurePond you're worthy of all the love, you're an amazing kind poetic soul. say a little "love you zindagi" and see life loves you too.
@suu1309 Thank you so much, Suuu… Maybe I will try to love Zindagi and who knows...maybe Zindagi will love me back. And I hope Zindagi is in love with you and treats you with kindness too💙
