a little romance with life

I dove deep down yesterday, under a pile of books Looking for a poet who had been lost since days I found her hidden in a corner, behind a page Chewing on a word- ‘lonely’ She had tears in her eyes She too had been searching for me. I sat with her for a while, on the edges of her book Our backs resting on the walls of a poem she had written I was with her, listening to her tales of sadness Of words that had left her Of feelings that no longer inspired poetry Of the ache she didn’t want to write about After a while, she sang to me old poems Those that were written during a happier time. When I was leaving, I picked my poet up Thought I’d keep her in the front pocket of my shirt Right in front of where my heart was But her home was in those pages, her soul in those words So I settled her on a nice cozy bed of a brand new page Promising her happy dreams And a dose of hope, to help her write again.

I know ‘right before the exams’ is a crazy time for me Sometimes beautiful and sometimes incredibly difficult Sometimes all about poetry that flows through my blood in those days Sometimes the hollowness of my room, sometimes of my thoughts Sometimes the emptiness in my heart, and sometimes how full I feel because I took more time than usual in finishing a meal that would otherwise be over in less than 10 minutes; the slowness comes in the avoidance of books that I love but hate because I have to glance through them fast and I can’t taste them slowly and swallow them with joy; the way I enjoyed my food today. So I glance at them and look away, at the choices I have made Of distant poets and story tellers and lovers of words whom I love and I stare at their lives so deeply with tears in my eyes wondering if they ever feel the way I feel sometimes; and if I will ever feel the way they do; and if ever somebody else will wish to feel the way I feel today ...

Right across my room lives the boy who creates music; dham dham badampam dham dham giving me wanted and unwanted sounds all day dham dham dham dham; and inside the room I can see him his specs staring hard at the screen, his face wearing a smile; dham dham dhadam dham bam “Would you like to listen to my new piece?” he says “Nahhhh, I haven’t got the time”; dham dham “aacha chal jaldi se suna” He’s the guy who gives background music to my life. But this boy who creates music doesn’t really know that he creates so much more. he creates joy for those struck with sadness and laughter for those who have been serious too long he creates sparkles in eyes he makes complete opposites stick along he creates food everybody loves and the best chocolate coffee I have ever known he is everything that is right with me and everything that is wrong, corrected, and then rolled into one. He is crazy plus innocent like a recipe made of chocolates and m...

Like saying ‘hello’ when meeting a treasured friend Like hugging the warmth of the sunshine Like warm feelings that had been tucked away under warm clothes kept in care for colder times Like reasons to let people come closer Like excuses to hold them tighter Like a short day that begs to be lived to the fullest Like a star-filled night that refuses to get over You come back to me like an old lover You whisper in my ears long forgotten songs You play with my hair You tickle my heart with your gentle breath You fill my mind with your scent. You come to me like an old lover who will one day say goodbye again.

There are promises that you make to yourself that will change the way you live your life; and sometimes you will be able to see as you make them; other times it’ll be years before you knew you were following a mantra a motto, or something; and when you look back it’ll shine through everything you have ever done and you’ll love it or hate it; but years later, you won’t be able to do anything about it. I have made some promises too. Like the promise I’ve made to never regret the evening I spent swept in the arms of something I love; like reading poetry Or listening and singing along to songs in the happiest voice, Like the day when I chose to ignore a pending assignment so that I could go and listen to two old men, both poets as they recited words weaved in magic, casting a spell on me And the wonder I felt when I saw them grow young in the span of an hour or so. And I will never look back with contempt or anger at the things and people that on...

I feel cheated on, today Because there is someone else out there who is Living my life—wearing the shoes I would have picked had I gotten to the store first; and in clothes that actually belong to me; telling stories that are hidden in the corners of my heart And I don’t know how she knows, but she knows And she flies, while I float around today, holding on to temporary anchors as I search for wings. Because there are no words for the things I feel And reasons for what I feel, but I feel, so much About so many things—like when I cross the road And stare at faces that say to me- “you know, I have an interesting story to tell”; and when I see mothers holding daughters as they cross roads and on the other end, daughters holding their mothers who are children again, once their job is done And how I laugh and smile and cry Because I can see the circle of life; but there is no one word Or even many, that can ever describe the warmth I feel That som...

Cheers to the being who does not keep A hidden box at the top of the closet Or in some corner of the heart Or in its mind Where it is covered By the cobwebs of memory A box that contains bits and pieces of paper Words and dialogues Quotes and lyrics Photographs of smiles And pictures of views Letters that haven’t been opened in years And phone numbers that will never be used Pens whose souls left them When their inks ran dry And papers who knew they had died When dust came to reside on them Where once fingers touched, And tears smiled. A box The box The most dreaded box The most loved one The one there But not really. Cheers to the being Who can let it go Who can but throw Away the things That matter no more. And I will come looking for you soon but I have a box as of now to look after.