indispensable

so hard I try
to make myself indispensable
so easily
you dismiss me

brimming

my love for you
is like a pillow
bursting at the seams

i carry this around every day
waiting for an chance 
to explode and fill the room with feathers

happy

how willing we are to settle for "happy"
what a peculiar choice to make

when we can feel ecstatic
when we can feel breathtaking exhilaration
when we can feel life-affirming hope

when we can feel inexplicable angst
when we can feel numbing pain
when we can feel so hopelessly in love

and yet we want to settle
for a measly little slice of happy

liberation

aren't we all 

a bit like caged beasts 

confined by closed spaces

but equally lost in the endless vastness

bound by 

all that we know

and dwarfed by the 

things we don't

who knows what 

what true freedom is

or liberation  

if it exists at all 

it must be in finding a purpose

all consuming

a something that keeps you alive 

chase

if the thrill of the chase
is better than the catch 
then one has to keep running 

fantasy

you light a spark
and i fan my feelings
until it becomes a raging fire 

you say yes 

and I drop all my defences

baring all for you to see 

you say a word

and i add plenty more

to weave beautiful stories 

you drop a hint

and i foolishly believe

that i'm in love 

how i love these fantasies 

in my head 

that don't exist in your reality 

Distance

​I've seen the most beautiful sunsets

from rooftops, trains and window seats

Streaks of blood that slowly soak up the sky

spreading into a gentle wash on a watercolour canvas

I've seen birds journey home in geometric patterns

Their cries filling the evening air

Mingled with the sounds of kids playing street cricket 

A strangely chaotic yet calming dusk

I've seen the sun lower itself below the city skyline

Disappearing bit by bit, through electricity wires 

Leaving an empty sky, save a kite here and there

And maybe an early moon

I've seen your eyes reflect my thoughts

And I want to share this little space, this slot of time, with you 

Maybe this sunset, maybe a million 

If only time were that generous

Stand with me on the terrace of this house

Watch the evening birds make their way home

Stay with me in this beautiful moment

Even as it disappears bit by bit

Into a something we will remember once in a while

In our own separate worlds 

As we watch, from rooftops, trains and window seats 

The sun melt away 

the distance between us  ​

breaking point

look at that cloud

heavier and heavier it gets

stealing a little bit 

from the sun, every day 

until it's completely blotched out

carry an umbrella around warily

you never know when 

it's going to burst

a cloudburst , they say 

you know when it's coming

there's an ocean within 

about to erupt 

giant drops fall noisily

one by one

at my feet

from my cheek 

perfect

so little I know of you
maybe that's why
you are so perfect

journey

i'd like to go 

on a nice long train ride

through the network of your brain 

navigate through 

criss-crossed thoughts

discover secrets,

surprises and grey areas

let me roar through

steep mountains, dark tunnels 

and fertile fields of red and gold 

and ease up 

at dimly-lit abandoned stations 

nobody else cares to stop at 

look, do you see 

that cat on the platform? 

curious eyes watch 

from underneath the magazine-cart 

the door's open, 

let me stand here

and watch the sky form 

long streaks of motion blur

slow down, you say 

and patterns start to emerge

as the engine pulls into a new place

in anticipation 

of conversations over

steaming hot cups of chai 

and the promise

of exploring

uncharted waters 

the signal reflects

the fiery setting sun

it's time to get off here.

privilege

a shiny new car

a new shirt from the mall 

see, want, buy -- things we don't need 

but would like to have

the lightness of easy spending 

the buoyancy of affordability 

does it really make up 

for the guilt of privilege

that rests heavy

unbudging

art

a poetic verse
drowning in the sound 

of a crowd talking among themselves

an elaborate illustration 

lost on the walls

of a dirty, stinking subway

a beautiful song

trying to make its presence felt

among train announcements

a grey photograph

subdued by the loud

angry neon billboard 

a profound comic

dying in the noise of 

Instagram feeds

a rich voice

singing to the stars

in the middle of the desert

extraordinary works

undiscovered stories 

overshadowed by busy daily lives 

why bother at all 

to create a piece of art 

what is it worth? 

revival

delicate little

herb plant

you died overnight

leaves droop

and hang over 

the side of the pot

i add some water

in the hope that maybe

tomorrow you will revive yourself

and in the morning,

i find a miracle

replenished again, you're doing fine

if only this worked

for everyone.  

decisions

perhaps there are no right

and wrong decisions

perhaps there is only

a slot of time 

ache

love is sustaining

love is fulfilling

loving is easy, they say
love is warmth and comfort
she cradles you as you sleep 

but love

which truly transforms you 

is love

which is a 

special kind of ache. 

will

a little leaf

peeking out

from the crack in the ground

wet, bent over

by the merciless rain 

a struggle

to survive 

bearing the weight 

of heavy, shiny droplets 

there's so much fight

left in it yet 

i went for a walk today

i went for a walk today

before sunrise

i soaked in the slow spread 

of the golden-red

across the sky

like the first wash 

of a painting 

the lake gently nudged

its bank-dwellers awake

a flock of ducks 

took off one by one

skyward, in formation 

a black and white magpie

opened its wings, revealing  

a shimmery, deep blue 

a swan sailed silently

across the grey lake 

rippling the reflections 

its chick, hesitating at first

behind the tall fronds

stepped forwards

and plop, landed in the waters

following its mother

creating ripple inside ripple 

in a mesmerizing pattern 

which gradually subsided into 

a calm blue-grey

it was like  

like nothing ever happened 

until a goose, honking loudly

stepped into the water 

and splashed about wildly

another, and then another

joined in, and they raised their voices

in a deafening chorus 

a cousin flying overhead 

called out to them

one answered, the others followed

and suddenly they were all gone, 

just like that, and the lake's waters 

closed in again 

i went for a walk today 

and it reinforced what i've always suspected

that life is a poem

life is a song. 

Rains

allow me 

to drink in 

your very being

through you

i taste the monsoons,

the wet earth, 

life-giving. 

swaddled in snow
a world so white
a transformation so dramatic
overnight
it didn't make a sound 

wait

throw things around

raise your voice 

shout and scream

isn't that what

we all want to do 

from time to time

hold back 

for a moment or two

and it will pass

a small victory
every time.