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Sunday, December 31, 2023

525600

Another Year Another Sunset
And a bouquet of varied moments
That stay strewn in my thoughts
And as pages
In my memory laced books

But it was not just another moment
It was like that year 
Yet nothing like that year
And I reminisce every 31536000 of it.























Copyright © 2023 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Hawaa ki Manzil

Dhuan dhuan dopaharon mein
Balkhaati hui raahon mein
Hawaa se pucha log tamaam ne
Bata zara hawaa... teri manzil ka pata

Muskuraake boli sehmi hawa
Duniyadari mein khwab aur
Khwab mein duniya tamam dhundte ho
Safar ke aashiqon ko
Bhala manzil ka pata kyun puchte ho 























Copyright © 2023 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved


Monday, November 20, 2023

Nights That

I love those nights
Nights that transform into these mornings
Immersed in words and thoughts

Mornings where
The chirping birds and the rays of sun
Tell me of the hours 
The ink of my pen engaged
In carving the emotions 
That my thoughts gauged
(Well probably some of it atleast.)
















Copyright © 2023 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved

For The Misfits

I write…
Of the vibrance of the rays of dawn
Of the glorious twinkling stars
Of the calming glistening moonlight
And
Of the marvels that the cosmos has.

I write…
Of the beauty of Life
Of the miracles of Hope
Of the wonders of happiness
And
Of the magic of Love.

I write…
Of the brilliance of colors
Of the soothing aromas
Of the gentleness of the breeze
And
Of the soothing strength of words

Yes…
It’s all joys and merry
Is it really so…
Or
Has it been scary?

I have witnessed
The gloomiest of dusks
And shrouded days in the clouds
I too have seen
The darkest of nights
And the Universe with a dreary sight

There have been
Frigid dances of death
And moments of despair
With doomed breaths
I’ve been casted upon
With the curse of oblivion
Spells of Blues
And numerous moments of forlorn.

There too are pallid days
That I’ve spent in cold corners
Devoid of any scent
During storms that have been braved
And in deafening silences
The comfort of words have been craved

But I still write
Of the things that I write 
Knowing they are far from
Conventionally right (relatability)

But I write
For the unconventional souls
Who do not fit
With the generic norms
For they speak a language
That barely anyone knows

And when they seek comfort
They crave for words
That are bright and light
And not the ones
That glorify treacherous woes’ might

Yes, I write for them
For the “misfits”
For those who do not relate
With relatability

Maybe someday 
Some far far future day
My unrelatable word would reach them
To serve as a momentary abode
And reinforce their values of hope and love

So, I will write
Till my pen bleeds and thoughts flow

For you,
For me,
And for the ones
Who desire,
in all darkness,
Of life and a momentary glow.
Copyright © 2023 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved

Sunday, October 29, 2023

An Evening Promise

Amidst an evening of bliss,
intertwined with thoughts,
as vibrant as the colors
painted across the horizon,

The Sky blushed,
as the Sun kissed goodbye,
with a gift of the stars and the moon,
and the promise of a new day.

Forever.

================================================
A little something:

Written as a reply to a prompt  : "Evening".

================================================
Copyright © 2023 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved

Wednesday, September 20, 2023

Mystery?

They say I hide it all
Yes there are no fancy pictures
But I have bared my soul

There were aspects that
A picture or selfie can never capture
But there were thousand tales
In every word
In every chapter

There are stories and many a lore
Fun anecdotes too...from across the shore 
But how would they know
For they are not readers
With a heart that glows
But just passersby
That go with the flow.
Copyright © 2023 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved

Friday, September 8, 2023

Your Story

All she wanted was to love
But how could she
Knowing what it could have done

All she wanted was to console them
But how could she
Knowing that her hug would be shunned

Love is all she was
So she withdrew to corners
Where she would be hard to find

Until You found her
And she sparkled
Like the bejeweled stars

Yes, she melted
But she melted in Love
And she loved like Love never could

She danced 
And dazzled and glistened with You
She glimmered and shimmered
And blushed when she knew
That she was destined
Destined With You

That's where your story began
For she was Ice
And You were the sun

Copyright © 2023 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved

Should?

From places to places
We go
Do we move in space
Or stay still in time
Or be mere spectators
Of a starry sea
In an endless ocean
Of limitless depth
We are just but
You and me
In expanses of the dimensions
We never knew
Should we have been
Never, ever, or
Forever?























Copyright © 2023 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved

Thursday, August 31, 2023

그대의 생각: Blossoming

하늘이 웃고 아침이 붉어질 때
공기가 숨을 쉬고 이슬이 반짝였을 때
정원에 꽃봉오리가 피어날 때도
그것도... 그대 생각나게 했어요.

When the sky smiled
And the morning blushed
When the air breathed
And the dew glimmered
The bud in my garden blossomed anew
And that too... reminded me of You.

















Copyright © 2023 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved

Sunday, August 27, 2023

Stay with your heart

When the walls are closing in on you
And the only door out is pitch-black...

Would you stay
Or would you take the path out?

What if the walls stop moving eventually?
What if there's a depthless pit just outside the door?

Would you stay
Or would you take the path out?

What if you traverse the deep trench
And there's a pretty garden beyond those depths
Where there's golden air soaked with the sunrays
And the fragrant breeze is colored
In hues of the beautiful flowers...
Can you leave the room
If there was a possibility of the garden?

Yes, there might be an endless stretch of trenches 
And immeasurable depths
Where there's no concept of time or space
Yes, there might be the rumblings of the walls
And the pressure well enough to crush a soul
There's a possible garden beyond the dark
But it just might be too good to be true

Whatever you choose
Wherever you stay
Or whichever paths you explore
Stay... With your heart

It may bleed but it will heal too
Stay with you, just once more
For there is a light breathing in there
There's a beacon forming
That shows the path
The journey is still there

Stay with your heart
Just one more step
When you can smell the dawn
Bathed in hopes and dreams
It will shine on you with the smile of sunflowers
Just stay once more
Stay with your heart
Copyright © 2023 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved

Friday, August 25, 2023

That is also me

That is also me
That no one knows
The one with mystic intricacies
And an equivalent framework
As any other me
But this has been special
In ways that
I never really could apprehend

That is also me
That knows the shades of the cosmos
And believes in every dust
For that is what stars are made of
And moons and stones and home
Yes there's something beautiful
And vivaciously precious
In every granule that that sees

That is also me
That chooses the light
And also glorifies the night
For there's an enigma that each beholds
And thousands of microcosmos
That breathes life and everything glows
There's a universe and many such more
That flavours every dream with adore

Yes, that is also me
That's so hopelessly romantic
That finds hope and beauty in everything I see

Copyright © 2023 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved

Saturday, August 19, 2023

Like An Epiphany

There are days like that
When every moment
Feels like an epiphany

When every breath of air feels extremely cold
As if it is hellbent to pierce your lungs
And reach your heart
To see if it cracks yet again
To see if the blood rushes
To heal it once more
Or give up and finally freeze

There are days like that
When every moment
Feels like an epiphany

When you realize the abyss from before
Is struggling to get a new meaning
One where nothingness never ceases
But was there anything to begin with
For there can be nothing
Only when there ever was something
And everything feels like a myth once more

There are days like that
When every moment
Feels like an epiphany

When communication is just an obligated model
Its roots rooted on the root of i2
For it is nothing
More than drab oblivion
If not sparked by you
For there never really was a language or literature
And a mere void had more elaborated meaning

There are days like that
When every moment
Feels like an epiphany
Copyright © 2023 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved

Friday, July 28, 2023

Don't Fall For The Words

There are emotions
Undefined and unnamed
And feelings so abstract
Even dimensions cannot capture

But there's still a desire
To let that essence percolate 
So they weave with heart
A sentiment
Which even words can't fathom

Poetry, they call it...
But all they see are words

Don't fall for the words
For they are but just a tool
To create an approximation
Of a dimension
That may lead you to feel the emotion
Not of the poet
But of your own
That you might have suppressed
From time unknown

Don't fall for the words
If you wish to know
The poet's sentiment
And the dreamy universes they sow
For words are meant to hide 
But pretend to show

Poems encase a cosmic weave
Of thoughts, whims, and notions
That exist and rest
Beyond the "normal" comprehension
So, don't fall for the words
For the poet's heart
They will never know
Copyright © 2023 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved

Thursday, July 20, 2023

Is Earth Flat?

Of the many photographs
that I never posted
and some that were never clicked

Of the many drafts
that I never published
and some that are still unfinished

Of the many stories
that I never told
and anecdotes that have never been recounted

And

Of the many travel diaries
that I never disclosed
and some lands that are still unexplored

Should any be unveiled
When the dawn shines
Even when
There are clouds still in the sky
Holding the immenseness of the ocean

Some day they may let go
But then
Where should it start
And where should it stop

For there's never been
An absolute end
Or beginning 
That was ever there

The earth has never been flat.

Copyright © 2023 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved

Wednesday, June 21, 2023

Gestures and Generosity

This is a story about a friend of mine. For convenience, let's address this friend as T. I would have kept this story to just myself. But I figured, we need to share certain things... even if it may look trivial.

I met T in the summer of 2019. I had decided to enroll for an additional course in an institute which was far far away from my place. Everyone who had enrolled for that course were staying in the same accommodation provided by the institute and hence many members would meet for meals together, by default. Because I had a different schedule and arrangement of my own, I wasn't able to meet the members as many times during the meals as I would have liked. However, on the first day of the session, when I did have breakfast with few of the members, I met T. I remember walking with T for some distance towards the classes and exchanging pleasantries.
But the few discussions that I had with T were memorable, interesting, and felt worthwhile.
From the very first interaction, I found T to be a very sincere and generous person... someone you could rely on. I remember T's gentle and sweet smile everytime we had a conversation. T, too, was a person of few words and thus we didn't have very elaborate or many conversations. But the few discussions that I had with T were memorable, interesting, and felt worthwhile.

Though I would like to refuse, my personality may seem a bit aloof sometimes to other people. And rarely anybody has that much time and patience to understand others these days. But T... T spoke with me. T's questions and interest about someone were marked with genuineness and it felt that T did care. And whatever little I got to know during my time in the institute, I knew how gentle and gracious T is.
T's questions and interest about someone were marked with genuineness and it felt that T did care.
After the sessions ended, we have stayed in touch. But the entire credit goes to T for this. T has always responded first. T would send me appreciation and feedback for my posts and poems. Though it might sound trivial, each feedback means a lot. Simple things like "I read your poems" matter and really do mean the world. It tells you that someone is listening to the words you have voiced through your writings.

T went to one of the book exhibitions.... and my book was there too. T not only searched for the stall where it was displayed, but also sent me photographs from the exhibition. It must have been difficult to find the stall because it was a big exhibition with hundreds of stalls... plus getting photos for me because I couldn't be there... I could not be more grateful. You could actually sense that sweetness in T's voice as T told me about the experience there. I couldn't believe how caring a person can be. And then today...
Though to others it may seem just sharing a photograph, but it is more than that.
Today, T sent me a photograph of a moon. That photograph had a note on it about the spots on the moon which were related to a poem I wrote months back. Someone had shared that photograph and T still remembered the discussion we had about the moon and fables related to it. Though to others it may seem just sharing a photograph, but it is more than that. That little note says a lot.. about the nice and considerate person T is... about the vastness of T's heart and greatness of T's character. It is not easy to be so mindful about others these days and we need to certainly celebrate moments and people like T. Though we do not talk too often, I always feel very inspired and positive whenever I talk with T... even if it's just a couple of words.

The number of words you speak do not matter.... as long as your thoughts are aligned the right way. I was deeply moved by T's gesture because of the thoughts that were put into it. I could not find the proper words that could convey my gratitude... but it surely did make that moment for me and I hope the thoughts were convened back to T. T, if you are reading this, please know that I am moved beyond words and I have always appreciated your gestures and generosity. Thank you for being a great friend 

You too might have someone like that in your life. Someone who always cheers you up, even if you do not communicate too often. Appreciate these small gestures in friendship. If you too have a friend like T, value them. Keep them in your thoughts always. And if you do not have someone like that, be a T to the people around you.

Copyright © 2023 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved

Wednesday, June 14, 2023

I and U



There are moments
when I transform to You
And moments
when You translate to I.

Ultimately, it's
I and U
that matter(s).
And, we meet midway.

12/2=6

Copyright © 2023 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved


Tuesday, June 13, 2023

June

A moment of transition
And of moments...
When history seems to
Repeat itself.
Is it time enough though
To call all these moments
That have been...
History?

For there are many more dawns
Yet to witness
Many more blossoms
Yet to smell
Miles to go
And paths to walk
Still many calming moonlights
To share our talks
And lie upon
The twinkling sand

Smiling starlight and
Warmth of the ocean breeze
Still waiting to feel
The chiming smile
That came across from
Thousands of miles

Dreams of those glories
Wrapped in silk
Are treasured in a place
Where time stays still
Aspirations of now
And Desires of the heart
Upon a warming smile
Present their shining part

Wishes gleam and Love beams
Under the silver moon and
In these days of
A magical June

Copyright © 2023 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved

Monday, June 12, 2023

Upon Love

I wished upon a velvet night
For a dawn, vivacious and bright
I wished too for that uplifting smile
To stay forever, and for an extra while

A day of memories
And moments to cherish
I garnered thoughts and hope
And enlivening feelings

A blessing for happiness
From the cosmos above
And a dream for us
I wished upon Love
Copyright © 2023 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved

Sunday, June 11, 2023

Tales of Nice Times

The evening breeze whispered
Tales of the nice times
When the Sun danced
And the wind chimed

Oceans sparkled
With the glory of a Delicate Warmth
The dazzling stars
Shone and bestowed charms

The moonlit meadows sent wishes
In every fragrance and hue
Upon witnessing feelings anew
Copyright © 2023 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved

Monday, June 5, 2023

Fire and Ice



It was a play of fire and ice
A play of sand and sea
Opposed and oddities were
Only a matter of perspectives
For when the forces symphonized
Magic oozed with sparks of gold.


Copyright © 2023 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved

Friday, April 28, 2023

Destined



It was probably
Just another afternoon sky
But every aspect of it
Reminded me of You
Smiling preciously
While nonchalantly stroking Your hair
With a blushing warmth
Adorning your eyes
And I realized one more time
You are the destined journey my smile takes
To find a home in my eyes everytime.

Copyright © 2023 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved

Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Words


Meaningful English Translation:

I have great reverence
for words
I treasure them
But when it is You
Words too feel irrelevant

How do I express
Everything that is felt
Or the emotions that are evoked...
In the mere frivolity of words!?

*Initially composed in German, translated to English

Copyright © 2023 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved

Saturday, April 15, 2023

Loved?

After a brief pause, a pause which felt as long and as short as the time one waits for trains to pass near a railway crossing, she said as she took a long breath, 

"I loved him. 

More than poets could love the moon. More than the parched summer grass loves the afternoon drizzle. I loved him more than I could have ever imagined. More than I thought I was capable of."

"Loved?" she thought while trying to find something unnamed and unrecognized in the tresses of grass. She asked her, still looking at the grass, 

"Did you say you loved him?"

"I did, yes," she turned towards her as she replied. 

"Past tense?"

"Yes," she replied crunching her eyebrows quizically, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just didn't know that the past tense of love existed... though grammatically it is a concept," she said as she turned her gaze from the tresses of grass to the sun across the sky. And thought, "Loved?! And do poets have to love the moon always? What if it's the sun they love? Was it ever Love if it transforms to Loved?"

And the pause continued once more. 

Copyright © 2023 One Life To Live. All Rights Reserved