Parveen Shakir (24 November 1952 – 26 December 1994) was a Pakistani poetess with so much to offer to this world beyond just her beautifully penned words. Her poetry never failed to hit home, and the timelessness of her poetry is exuded through in how often we remember her when the heart feels heavy. She’s also someone whose life outside of her poetry career is immensely interesting that she makes the perfect candidate to celebrate the existence of poetry.

With three (yes, three!!) Masters degrees to her credit AND a PhD, Parveen was, as is evident, an extremely smart woman. She had so much to offer but her life was cut short when she passed away in a car accident in 1994, at the age of 42.

This World Poetry Day, she serves as the perfect poet to celebrate with because of the beautiful gift of her words that she’s left us with.

Here are 13 of her most magical gems:

1. On waiting for THE one.

2. On rain that reminds you of so many, many memories.

3. On internal battles.

4. On midnight woes.

5. On the first monsoon.

6. On how nature holds so many secrets.

7. On life. And loss.

8. On waiting for someone.

9. On your inner wanderlust.

10. On separation.

11. On the complexities of love.

12. On not being able to move on.

13. On being touched by your loved one.

Beautiful words, indeed.