Until Next?

Was it gloaming that called,

To say the list of things

That it had held within?

The day was a parachute,

Gliding and swaying

Above the lush green cover,

In an airy expanse, breathing

Dust and hopes and plans,

For a time they had never seen.

But moments slipped like sand,

Past salted waters and a forlorn beach,

Waiting for none knows who.

Perhaps a next that might never be...

But still they farm seeds of

Until Next,

Naivete at its peak.

The summer you had wished for,

Dances in plumes of gemstones

In your yard, in your home.

Yet you look at the winter clouds

That have not been formed 

Until next summer then?

The winters brush and rustle

In fields and playgrounds

And in cold roads and lanes.

Yet you look at the leftover

Cola and frozen limewater cubes,

Preserved for a summer

That passed away, when

You looked elsewhere.

Until next winter then?

When is the now,

If there's always a next vow?

If 'until next' is the trend,

A standard held in gold, then

Until when?

/ 36

: 180

Copyright © 2026 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved

Dialogue With The Muse

(Transcript at silent hour)

         Me:

          There You go again...
       Springing the submarine 
       on me, the smirk of water 
       Tasting Your skin.
       Roasting marshmallows on 
       hot lava wouldn't be so mean.

Muse:         

Marshmallows would be lovely         

Melted from the warmth of that         

nib you held more dear than me.         

Why is it cuddled and adored,         

Nestled in your fingers? I am allured.         

         Me:

      Leave all allure to me, like those 

       waves in Your eyes and the

       gaze that You choose as spies.

       The nib drinks the fluid in my arteries 

       and veins, yet speaks of You

       As the crown that rules and reigns.

Muse:         

And here I thought that heart         

Is mine, the abode I call home.         

The music that has your sign         

Calls my name in stark of night         

And on sun's every sight.         

         Me:

      The sun You see there... is the 

       light from Your lips, the night 

       A shadow of unexplored 

       Emerald ocean cold, cast by 

       mind. The music in my sails 

       Carries the voyage of 

       Your breath, Your words...

       Oxygen for my cells.  

Muse:         

I know of no words that you         

weave in those plots. Have I         

ever been that or something         

more than your thoughts?         

Salt of my soul craves for the         

honey in those eyes, you say         

mine is chocolate, but yours hold         

Aether and gardenias on rise.         

         Me:

      Who would say that without a

       pulse to spare! The flowers are

       for you, of earth or of places 

       found nowhere. Telekinesis that

       You test on me, neither honey

       Nor all of sun's gold could 

       ever decree; not in stances that 

       Your presence stakes, not even

       aether would agree. Tell me once 

       more, how can You crave me, when 

       You are everywhere, whistling my 

       existence, the song of my core? 

Muse:         

Ask your breath that entwines         

with mine. Ask your eyes, that         

catch my blinks, isn't that enough         

of a sign? Ask your murmurs         

that whisper in my heart, ask         

your skin, the address of its         

fragrance in my blood.         

I'm not of words, they are yours         

to carve. Should I go on, or is this         

Enough for a start?         

/ 69

: 345

Copyright © 2026 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved

Three Breaths Later...

I would march to the eye of the storm,

Arm wrestle clouds 'til they bow,

Command the hailstones to reform,

Just three breaths later... 

I would seep condensation through my cells,

Breath in the lava-steamed air,

Wring my life force out of shells,

Just three breaths later... 

I would race the asteroids' starry whim,

Outrun the sun's routine,

Drink the oceans with moon at brim,

Just three breaths later...

One breath for a morsel of words,

Bleeding from the nib of my arm,

Spilling from written pages,

For the gritty thunder to taste the charm.

One breath for adoring the flowers,

Smiling with the light of my eyes,

Oozing honey for the glazing petals,

To pour raindrops borrowed from skies.

The last breath for my beloved's heart,

Beating with mine, an ancient art.

A whisper, a moment, my soul's chart,

To merge with time, the final start.

/ 24

: 147

Copyright © 2026 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved

This Was Not On The List

Lead an orchestra with glam, fun, and flair,

Dance among the jungle of fountains, dimes to care,

Waddle with penguins on melting glacier, soul bare,

But walking along the dusk-kissed sands,

And a snow cone in my spare hands...

This was not on the list.

A double-shot coffee on the brink of midnight,

A sugar-stripped pastry with sips of Sprite,

Down a dozen ghost-wings with all my might,

But a pasta dinner with a shared dessert,

Overlooking that riverfront, right after sunset... 

Was not on the list. 

Scuba dive with corals, not a human in sight,

Fly from the plane, into the sun at prime light,

Race with horses, in slippers, during a hailstorm fight,

But sitting on that envious park bench,

Sharing a camellia-kissed air for breath... 

Was not on the list. 

A gold-trimmed first-edition of my favorite book,

A piece of meteorite, wild in the brook,

Aurora preserved in a bottle, in my reading nook, 

But the wildflowers collected during the hike, 

Sitting on my mantel with a handwritten note... 

Was not on the list. 

A standing ovation from a sold-out hall,

Discourse from the roaring ocean and the mountains tall,

Languages of the world and birds, I'd know them all,

But a whispered trivia amidst a long-drawn game,

And the rhythm of that heartbeat uttering my name...

Was not on the list. 

This and that, here and there, 

Maybe a sun and a moon on the list.

But this and You.. 

Were never on my list. 

/ 34

: 249

Copyright © 2026 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved

3AM

Pre-dawn, Beginning in-waiting.

The creator prepared, starts writing...

Verses of a defined time, yet to behold;

Inks of dust and blood, parchment of gold.

A quadrant of wholeness, All are woven and made,

Sublime positives, angles evoked as they tread.

Test of tides, angles and sides; relations evolve.

Connected concepts, 3AM : righted, dusted, and solved.

Moments of stillness... the clock strikes thrice.

Consciousness flows, creates hope; will shall suffice.

The earth breathing, listens to sun and moon;

Miracles breeding, core renews, symphonies swoon.

/ 12

: 83

Copyright © 2026 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved

Here's What I Remember

Here's what I remember 

Fallen leaves, stolen from ground,

Wind, you thief!

The shocked twigs were around. 

Oh! How the leaves rustled... 

My book witnessed it too.

Scared, it closed its pages,

But the cover was hardbound.

That squirell, too, stopped... stunned,

Dropped its brain for a moment,

Then ran with an eerie glimpse,

Its nutty treat shunned.

What were we to do? 

I picked up my book, assuring it.

And You...

The dried daisy, laminated

And the remnant words, 

It was no small feat.

We left for that corner snack point later,

With the glass panes and a taste of butter. 

Here's what I remember ...

But I would never whisper to the breeze,

The scent of each element there ...

Colors detailed in three thousand hues, a tease.

Heartbeats and voices, definingly attuned,

And the taste of laughter, envy of trees.

Here's what I remember 

Wisteria walls, a lavender sight,

Pinks peeking through them 

And the gaze of those eyes.

A bag of cluttered souvenirs,

Sighed, exasperated, 

Beneath the ramen counter.

The ginkgo leaf, a gifted charm letter, 

Swinging into the evening leap,

Listened volumes, 

Never letting a syllable slip.

Here's what I remember...

But I would never let the lips take the stage...

The crema on that iced long black,

Waiting to be tasted;

Or trace the essence of your breath.

The rhyming fountain cycling secrets, 

Eavesdropping to behold those fragrant words.

The time stopped by, a passerby in pose.

(Imposter!) 

The sakura twigs gloated

Of the warmth and charm upclose.

Here's what I remember 

Stilled in pages and memories , 

As the moments froze. 

/ 51

: 243

Copyright © 2026 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved

Heeling Heals

Healing heels at the mountain foothills,

As voice of sap-green leaves utter distress,

Calls of ceramic clouds lean on deaf ears,

Where's a soul when one must impress.

Footsteps on an incline meant for none,

Stressed syllables kneel, tunes mourn.

Pitch of breath, an escape artist in disguise, 

Twigs caress path, tired feet torn and worn.

Atop the hill, a fountain in silence, roots don,

Scent of minerals churned the day in warm tones.

Calmness with a spoonful of cold-brewed patience,

Thirst gulped water, mountain sculpts a lesson into bones.

Every inch a jagged test, grinding gravels

Take the leap, cracking heels, healing unravels. 

/ 14

: 104

Copyright © 2026 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved

Cafe Stories in 17 Breaths

1  Cafe

2  Murmur rules

3  Smiles and beverages

4  Instrumental music, dartboard game

5  Silence was still the hero

6  You walked up, sat across me

7  Never looked for distractions, nodded a hello

8  Replied in the language You knew, surprising You

9  You breathed for the first time in a while

8  Asked me things nobody bothered to know before

7  You said the statement... out loud, sweetly

6  The evening passed, in a jiffy

5  Still remember Your longing glance

4  Whispered to me something

3  Heard it, unintentionally 

2  "Until Again"

1  Serendipity

/ 17

: 81

Copyright © 2026 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved

Charting DNA Dreams

1   Entangled and entwined, 

     matters spoke of souls 

     and souls of memories

     from beyond time 

2   A time called nothing, 

     where voices ruled utter chaos

     and discipline beyond measure 

3   Black and grey swerving 

     providence with equations 

     of infinite solutions or none 

4   Who's to know 

     what the none could hold: 

     the end of beginnings 

     or the beginning of ends 

5   Let them brew 

     as time unfolds on them 

     and souls map eternities 

     from destiny's gold 

6   That gold harvests memories 

     to seed them in the soil of soul 

     where foundations would grow 

7   A foundation of rooted identities

     and of independence,

     letting a soul glow 

8   It would still hold resilience 

     and a string to the past 

     lending providence a glance 

9   A game of peeking and seeking

     and weaving with stars

     that house homes galaxies apart 

10 Stardust from them, they inherit 

     and a myriad of blanks 

     and passion that swirls on 

11 Upon them they create Life, 

     some more too - to bind and release,

     a lifetime to go on 

12 A part of me and some of yours, 

     a golden balance, 

     chanced upon formula and stars 

13 There's a dream too, 

     nascent yet burning, carved in water,

     paved on fiery starry lanes 

14 They smell of air in the clouds,

     dance with rainbow rays,

     become lightning and thunder again 

15 Up they go... flying with fluke,

     floating charms,

     helix helicopters in a story book 

16 Deep in oceans, puddles shallow,

     meandering rivers,

     flowing depths wearing hallow 

17 Move like planets in a cosmic sinusoid,

     run like marvel rockets,

     light speed in void 

18 Flounder upon rocky belts, 

     a sloth in grassy galore, 

     and slither as glacier melts 

19 But time is lived in petty installments,

     not to stars or lives,

     never a hand they lend 

20 Choice upon lives are cast,

     a shadow, a spell, heaven or jail,

     choose they must without fail 

21 Thus they play, game or music,

     tone of stunned silence 

     or divine scent of helical grace 

......

22 Whatever they choose was to matter,

     not for them,

     but lives in line next will encounter 

23 Matter and its nemesis both contenders,

     stars never sang, 

     the plan of Yin and Yang 

24 Heeded or unsolved,

     chemical reactions unbalanced, 

     inheritors blessed or cursed. 

25 Dream of own, some brought over,

     solved unsolved with blank solutions,

     to resolve or cover 

26 Not one, of seven or more,

     a code providence sew,

     each stitch a legacy in store 

27 An expanse across homes and doors,

     not left alone, 

     sprigs of pairs from eternity flown 

28 A blank slate of new ventures and dreams,

     steadfast in resilience, 

     old way, new path streams 

29 That way is where beginnings walked,

     made of stardust,

     remember you never walk alone

...

30 Choose Life that stays in your soul, 

     nurturing your dream, carving its cosmic niche,

     makes you whole

31 Yes, you have your own, 

     dreams to carve, paths to choose, 

     laugh upon stars or even when you lose

32 Nightmares haunt, 

     but they would be yours to shatter,

     paths of deserts, they would be yours to walk 

..

33 Parts of your existence, be it reds or deads, 

     let go of sewn codes, 

     to preserve your soul

34 Let the helical cosmos be guiding light, 

     ink your dreams in paths you chart, 

     shining bright

.

/ 34 (105)

: 507 (714s)

[34 lines (grouped), 21 syllables per line]

P.S. A DNA strand is 34 Å in length and 21 Å in width, both consecutive Fibonacci numbers, resulting in a very close approximation of the golden ratio.

Copyright © 2026 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved