Aarani Diana is a writer and poet from Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. Her work has appeared in Journal of Erato and Hot Pot Magazine, and she is a staff writer for Love Letters and the Incognito Press. She also publishes her own blog, sparkoftheflames.com.

Begging Masked as Kindness

Did you know animals help each other?
Even the birds do.
Sometimes I think I’d like
very much to help you.
Let me help you.
Could I come a little closer?
Perhaps I could make
your world a little brighter?
Would it be alright

if I kissed you?

Moonlit Reflections

He is loved most in the in-between moments,
eyes scanning a menu, when his soft and steady
heartbeat is heard, as he looks over his shoulder
 when he parks, or hand over mouth,
as he glances away smiling.
The feeling ripens and swells, ready to burst.
Everything that matters exists in
those moments. The world is not real,
only him and the stars, those
old vessels of hope, and the ripply distortion
of the moon
on the water.