Written piece
Next To You: Where I Feel Safe
Lucky Sharma
India
About this piece
This is a poem I wrote from my heart. It expresses how I feel whenever I stand beside my beloved brother. Every place I visit with him becomes the safest place and a sanctuary for me. These are my true feelings—feelings I have never expressed to anyone before.
There is no tree,
No wall standing tall.
No sea nearby,
No minaret is beautiful at all.
Yet I don’t know why,
My heart yearns to go there time and again—
That one place,
Where the sky always feels the bluest in my lane.
No one questions the reason I arrive,
No one asks the time I return.
It’s the only place,
Where I find answers to every concern.
No fear can touch me,
No sorrow can stay.
Just a few moments of peace there—
And it's the greatest joy that comes my way.
It’s the place that not only keeps me safe
But quietly makes me strong.
Not in any corner of the world,
But right beside my brother—that’s where I belong.
There’s no worry of falling,
No fear of standing again.
Gifts await me every moment—
Whether it's summer, winter or rain.
When he’s near, even storms
Change their direction and leave.
In my fresh, free-flowing life,
He’s the reason joy refuses to grieve.
The biggest battles turn into whispers
With his calm, quiet might.
And when his hand rests on my shoulder,
My face blooms like a rose in sunlight.
When his hand is holding mine,
I could never be truly lost, never undone.
My safe place... my sanctuary...
My brother — it’s only you, the one.