The Quiet Way Things End — Sumedha Motilall

Not with shattering,
or orchestras of pain,
but in the very small ways
no one warns you to watch for.

A shorter laugh.
A delayed reply.
Milk bought for one.

The sudden realization
that you are speaking to be remembered,
not responded to.

Endings are shy like that—
they leave their shoes at the door,
they speak in softened vowels,
they tuck their devastation
under borrowed coats.

By the time you name it loss,
it has already packed—
not dramatically,
but efficiently,
like someone who knew
they would not be staying.

Nothing falls.
Nothing breaks.
It simply becomes smaller,
until one day you reach for it
and touch air
trying its best to feel solid.

---

Sumedha Motilall writes about the delicate, ordinary moments that make life feel unexpectedly full. Her work centres on stillness, reflection, and the small truths that surface in between.