Are You Okay?

Are you okay?


Not just your body;


whether it aches,


or if the fever has gone,


or if your face wears the right kind of smile.

I don’t mean it the way people do

when silence feels too heavy


and they toss a coin


into the fountain of small talk.

I mean, was your bed warm

when morning shook you awake?

Did your breakfast leave you full

the way sunlight fills a room

when curtains are finally open?

On your way out,


did you catch the scent of rain

threading through the garden,

see the butterflies

folding themselves into color?

If hunger still lingers,

we’ll share a meal.


You can take my umbrella,

I’ll take the side that leaks.

And remind you of deadlines,

the small tyrannies of living,


so they don’t swallow you whole.

Are you okay?


I’m opening a door, not a formality,

hoping you’re not carrying


more than you can hold.

Maanya is a 12th grade student who enjoys writing poetry that is both light hearted and thought provoking. With a keen admiration for psychology and cinema, she is often deep down research articles or trying to memorize rap verses.