Friday 31 July 2020

Insecurities

Would I be called names
For being jealous 
Of another successful poet?
Or is that a creative quirk
You're allowed to own?
To be your own version of Bukowski;
Be your own eccentric Hemingway;
Be your own unsteady Zelda
And sail through life 
On waves of despair 
That somehow, unbelievably,
Lead you to success, fame,
And immortality.

Sunday 26 July 2020

Life Story

So very often, I forget
the path that got me here.
Convoluted like the Amazon,
its rip tides tearing at my skin without mercy
(that's how the hide was birthed).
Dreams taller than giant sequoias
with only the sky left to breach-
what else could be higher?
I forget the times 
When I knew so little about life,
and had so little to lose.
But love was still the roof
that shielded my head 
from rain, shine and circumstance.
I've always worn a crown 
of joy and peace.
It sits on my head like it owns me.
(I own it).
Happiness comes through love,
and no matter my journey or my pitfalls,
I have always been loved-
it has been my constant truth
and my biggest strength.
I am whole.

Wednesday 15 July 2020

Ghost Town

His fingers played
an imaginary song on an imaginary
piano.
The street urchins, however,
could hear his tune.
Claire de lune.
The beaches lay bare-
Stripped clean by disease-
No lovers' clandestine meetings
To hide under the moon.
A barren city that once
Brimmed 
With so many men
That God's arms felt burdened-
Life can be heavy.
Imaginary ebbs and imaginary flows-
This music was for the mind,
not the ears;
Just as this disease is for 
Bodies,
Not for voices.

Take Me For Granted

My lips are moist
With the succulence of
Romance,
And my eyes are brimming
With liquid love.
Our bodies smell 
Of frankincense and lavender
Burning bright and purple;
And today, I think of 
Nothing
But how deeply we have loved
And how purely we have cared.

Thursday 9 July 2020

Patriarchy

"Your art doesn't matter,
Your science is unimportant,
Your worth is less than pennies.
You are a woman. 
No amount of marching
Or protesting
Will change that",
Said the misogynistic mama's boy.

Tuesday 7 July 2020

Blindness

I'm so blind
Without my glasses
That all I seem to see
Is you-
A floating dandelion
Carried around
By a flirtatious breeze.

Wednesday 1 July 2020

Kashmir

Hey-
If you think there's anything
Extraordinary
About staying indoors
Bathed in layers of fear,
Uncertainty and hopelessness,
And that you deserve a break-
Perhaps first,
Get the internet working again,
And open all the doors
That have stayed locked
For longer months
In Kashmir.