Blue Seas

I dream of many things. I remember the pale, yellow sun, washing my face. I dream that I can see the sun again, perched up in the sky. I dream of the blue, transparent waters of the sea. The white sand slipping from under my feet with every fresh, frothy wave. I dream of the cold wind hitting my red, frostbitten nose. I dream of the feeling of my boots trudging on the fresh, flaky snow before it turns to ice. I dream of crowded concert halls. I dream of icy aisles in supermarkets. I dream of coffee and its painfully bitter taste on my tongue. Milk, no sugar. Left out on the kitchen table long enough to become room temperature. I dream of stained glass windows in churches. I dream of diving into a pool on a hot, summer day. I dream of bonfires and marshmallows. I dream of sitting outside, with chocolate fondue, the sea breeze whipping my hair. I dream of doing something worthwhile, accomplishing something, saving the world. I dream.  Because that is all I can do. ...

The deepest, darkest Levels of the sea get no Sunlight. Monsters live.

Don’t fall in love with me. I drink tea without sugar. And I marathon Jurassic Park when I’m feeling down. I make jokes exclusively in bad puns. I count the hours every day till the sun sets. Don’t fall in love with me. I talk to strangers in banks and at airports. I can’t have blended whisky anymore. I let my dog sit on my lap and occasionally kick me off the bed. And I always lose at Monopoly. Don’t fall in love with me. I leave plastic wine glasses with lipstick marks on the dresser. I wear jeans and t-shirts and boots every day. I am a little intimidated by beautiful girls. And I drink coffee with two espresso shots in them. Don’t fall in love with me. I will say exactly what I think of you without pausing to think If it will cause you hurt I’m too short and I will have to stand on tiptoe around you And you will always have to hold my umbrella in the rain. Don’t fall in love with me. I’m too tired in the mornings. I gent...

I, I was the broken pieces of coloured glass, and, You, you were the kaleidoscope that moved me.

Sunset in Jaipur. At long last I realise, Why it's called 'Pink City'.

Lit up by the light of many a sun. Chased by the meteors. Illuminated by the constellations that scar the inky, black sky. Shadowed by the eclipses. Emboldened by the fire of icy comets. My heart is a crevice of the Milky Way. And I am as fleeting as the stardust that makes up your dreams.

It was raining outside and I was sitting in the car, Watching the droplets roll down the window, Their shadows leaving asymmetric lines on my arms. I engraved your name on my wrist, So I would not feel compelled to slice them open. But I want to cut through them anyway and disfigure myself, Because what is a battered body in front of a broken soul. I am in the shower and I hiss as the hot water rolls off my back. The thunderstorm has given way to a peaceful drizzle. The soap runs off in rivulets down my arms and I look up, The steam from the bath envelops me and I refuse to feel the pain. I welcome it. The pain settles in my shoulders and seeps into my very bones. I have a hot cup of tea to keep me company, A poor substitute for the warmth and comfort you once exuded in my life. I am tired of being a sinner in your eyes and mine. I wish for the rain to stop and the clouds to clear, And someone to tell me, you are forgiven .

He stood by the edge of the sea, Where the waves tickled his feet, And the little crabs scurried sideways. He reached his arms out towards the horizon, But she was too far gone, too far gone. He stood in the middle of his garden, The grass, a lush, green carpet below him. The hummingbirds whizzed past him. He turned to look at the lights in his house, And she was too far gone, too far gone. He sits with his friends in the cafe they frequent. He stirs the viscous liquid in his cup. He laughs at their jokes,  And he doesn't have a care in the world. Little does he know that she's too far gone, too far gone.

For Astha The thunder rolls As your words do, off my back. The rain lashes the windows Like the whip and I flinch In reflex. And I should sleep But I keep thinking of you, And how scared you used to be Of thunderstorms. I get goosebumps thinking of all the times I had to calm you When the thunder rolled, And the lightning flashed, And the rain lashed against the windows. And now it doesn't make a difference to me, Not a difference in the world. Because you are gone. And all that's left is the silence of thunderstorms.

For Astha I felt the sadness seeping out of my bones, Pouring out of my mouth with word after word That came crashing like waves. Small blue waves we saw bobbing in the ocean When the green flag was waving, And it was safe for us to swim. So we swam along the reef, holding hands, Because we were large compared to the fishes. But so very small compared to the sea.

For Neeti In the brightness of day You found me, you found me; Reflecting your own light, You were sitting there. In the darkness of night I found you, I found you. I borrowed your light To light up myself. In the shadow of eclipse You hid me, you hid me. Little did I know You were trying to protect. In the void of space Across time, across time, I saw in you A reflection of mine.

For Kritika Goenka What do you do when life becomes scary? When your heart grows fond And your mind grows weary? When your soul is caught between the two, Tell me, friend, what are you expected to do? Since when have you been preparing for this? What do you know? You’ve spent your life in bliss. And now you have to wake up and see This is not how your life was meant to be. You thought your path ahead was clear. You couldn’t be more wrong. I feel sorry for you, dear. There’s only so much you can plan, so much you can follow. What do you do when you’re overtaken by sorrow? You can wait, and cry, and wait some more. You can scream and shout; You can lie on the floor. I don’t know, perhaps that’s as bad as it gets. In real life, there are no placing bets. Or, maybe you should get up and keep going. I know life is scary, There’s no denying. See, you’re expected to fall, but I want you to stay. It’s just a bump in the road, love,...

I waited for you. Long after you were gone, I stood by the window Overlooking the trees And the white cross On the steeple of the Local church. The dark grey clouds Came and thundered And it rained. Then the storm cleared, And you didn't come back. I waited for you. I knew it was foolish, Everyone said so. How I wished They were wrong, For once. I left the window And the house With the wooden floors And creaky stairs, And sought my fortunes Elsewhere. You didn't come. I should have known. Nobody comes back. They promise, And they leave. And then the storm clears, And the sun comes out, And you think you see them On the horizon. But it's empty. They have gone. And you're left alone. My new life is mine. It's in a land far away. Sometimes I think That you will find that house, And the window Overlooking the trees And the white cross On the steeple of the Local church, And think to yourself, "Why did I let her go?" But I know you ...

From the flames of heaven was born a demon, From the ashes of earth, a phoenix arose. All would hail the former, it would seem, and The phoenix, not a person chose. A struggle a day, a lifetime spent Looking for something and losing yourself. The demon engulfed everyone in its flames And before nighttime, quietly fell. The phoenix flew and sometimes staggered. Not a person there was, to help it on its way. 'Life is not easy,' the phoenix figured, 'Sometimes it's cold and lonely at night, Sometimes its's unforgiving during the day.' It matters not from whence you came but What you chose to make of it. The demon spoiled for choice, it was, Chose to fall, wrongly, and fell to death. The phoenix took flight. Not one, but hundred shackles held it back, It broke free. It chose to fly, and die it may have, but It chose to live again, it chose to see. The demon, blinded by love, it was, That people every day showered it with. The demon never learnt to...

Free fall. Just when I had stopped looking. I found you. As I closed my eyes. And let myself go. The wind whistling in my ears. I could almost see Fate smiling back at me.

The way the overhanging mist hazes the city till I can't even see the building next door, The way the small round, yellow leaves sweep around my feet, every time a bus that is not mine, comes and goes, The orange sun hides behind the unchanging grey clouds, And somewhere in a land, far away from this one, it snows. People find their soul mates, over coffee breaks and heartbreaks, Students, sleepless, work on their projects as the alcohol and caffeine flows, Seasons come and seasons go, Seasons change, But who knows, When its fall, I'm hoping that something will change. Love, Life and Happiness And many other things that's supposed to be within my range. The garden lizards curl up and go to sleep, No, they don't have a care in the world. The holidays are coming upon us and You call me everyday as I thought you would. I know that you must miss me now... I do, I miss you too. But some things are more important than us, Don't ask me what or who....

আমি মানব একাকি ভ্রমি বিষ্যয়, ভ্রমি বিষ্যয়। I am the anti-original. I come here to break the myth or originality. I come here to redefine originality. বিরহিনি চাহিয়া আছে আকাশে। Maybe, I'm not special. No. I'm quite certain that I'm not special. I'm just different. So its useless trying to classify me. তুমি সদা যার হৃদে বিরাজ, দুখ জ্বালার সেই পাষরে, ওগ দুখ জ্বালার সেই পাষরে। I am weird, and twisted. I like coffee, রবীন্দ্রসঙ্গীত, game theory and shopping for shoes. My X-Y correlation scatter plot graph is very random. যা না চাইবার তাই আযি চাইগো, যা না পাইবার তাই কোথা পাই গো। You better be quicker than my fleeting interests to catch me.

"I can hear the sound of violins, long before it begins." And when you're somewhere nearby, my heart starts to pound inside my chest, involuntarily, even if I can't yet see you. "Makes me feel as only you know how, sway me smooth, sway me now." Yes, so much so, that just for this once, I'd pick you over Richard Gere. (My due respects to Michael Buble, of course.)

I wandered lonely as a sheep Like the white one which is Tied outside one of the shops In the bazaar- It looks like it has no business Being there. I wandered lonely as a sheep, Bounding over the textbooks, And the half-written diary; And the poetry by Rafael Campo; And the late night coffee mug stain On the desk on which I study, But sometimes end up writing poetry. I wandered lonely as a sheep, Tip-toeing along the chain of thoughts Of love and happiness, And security long-forgotten; Of betrayal and grief And newer emotions I wish I had never discovered; Of friends and friendship; Of love and the man I love Who I know will never love me back. I wandered lonely as a sheep, I heave one last sigh, And jump, over the fence- Beyond, to freedom.

Part I Lucifer, you are mine, No matter how far You push yourself from me, Lucifer, you belong to me. You have sinned, yes. But I have forgiven... You have turned your face away. But Lucifer, I want you to stay. It is easy to do wrong, But even easier to do right. Will you not give me a chance to explain? Lucifer, I call out your name. Come back Lucifer, Your father awaits you, You are the first light Lucifer, Born of my brightness. You are the last light Lucifer, Come back to the source. You wrong not me Lucifer, You wrong yourself tonight. Tonight as you prepare to leave, Think back on all the times you fell, And I was there to pick you up, And to make you well. No sin is too great, Lucifer That I cannot forgive. Because I love you Lucifer, In treason, hatred or grief. Tonight if you leave your home, If you cut yourself from me, I will not scold you, threaten you, throw you away- I will keep my doors open, In case you return t...