April 2026: One Life To Live

Monday, April 20, 2026

Beneath The Big Dipper

Summer nights under the veil of stars

Worry an alien, its ship further from far

Melodies of heart captioning the lips

Jasmines breath honey inbetween sips

Seven stars and the accompanying one

Guide the polestar letting sagas spun

A small story or two from miles across

Absent sense, taking logic for a toss

But those were times when innocence ruled

Beneath the big dipper, naive hearts pooled

Called it a spoon and held its soup hostage

Performed like none would, the smiles their stage

Dreams were voice of reason, the sky they owned

Beneath the big dipper, small memories spawned

/ 14

: 100

Sunday, April 19, 2026

Nothing New

The gloaming fire of purple haze

Embers simmering in a hearth of daze

Laces so soft, evenings embellished

Cherishing silken roots, clouds relished

Nothing new in those seconds of time

No hour, no minute, dimensions a dime

Not a one, not a nothing, not a never ever

None knows whoever knew a new to sever

Yes it repeats, the big bang and dusts

Yare vessels sail still, waves or windy gusts

Yearning a course a heartbeat could change

Youthful ways and a desire to arrange

Who would know when there's nothing to know

A glimmer in those embers hinting still to flow

/ 14

: 102

Saturday, April 18, 2026

Long Lost Diary

Day 2

Numbers changed, tumbling things

Emotions roll, foggy shiny beings

Was it beginning of new?

What changed? Except for the date

That had never stayed same ever

Day 43

A month and barely some more

Winter was always a winged-creature

Perched on that skeleton mango tree

Licking the remnants of blossoms

Nearby tree had offered for taste courtesy

Day 74

Should I uncage the mutant mind?

Let it be freed into that uncanny dimension?

Spring stared, hand in pocket,

Vicious smirks, the cuckoo coma bound

Day 105

This is what New Years should learn

Yellow-lined parade march

Cab, a compressed chariot

Shiny gray red carpet, I am of my own

Mango, you can co-rule.

Day 164

Sky landed on a steely blue UFO

That painting smiled at me, did they notice?

Intuition, my fickle friend, whispered again

Perhaps it was right,

The stars from that tower too pretty

To notice anything. Postponed for vibes.

Day 311

Golden feelings in a field of purple cosmos

You said...

******

Day 3451

Found a diary, it claims to be mine

Long lost, complains I had it forgotten

Memory, you trickster, again at your game

Not a word has my voice,

Not a thought... an owner of a valid address

Last entry half said, ever said, or never said?

/ 33, 41

: 201, 215

Friday, April 17, 2026

Airport Happenings

For the fourth time that night

I crossed the coffee counter

Never to lend a single glance

The air had too much caffeine

For a night that long

To be spent on yet another

Sleepless airport lounge encounter

The better seats, all six of them

All housed with dwellers

Who seemed nothing like each other

Nor a cent like me

Yet stuck in the same boat

For the entire dusky night

Or for moments unknown

Sandy smelling breadsticks

Searching for a soup too withered

Food too unwelcomed

Not a single palate to revere it

Couches staring at

Empty plates, buzzing hum,

Absence of noisy silence

Let go of the need to hold upright

I finally chose one

That was to be

My abode for the night

Gates flooded with shadows

Not with a day-like urgency

Whispers whisper silence

Like the mourning of noise

Dimmed lights yet bright

Fluorescence river in a plight

Everything moved

Without strides and runs

Airport on a snail diet

Two starless sweeps

Of hour hands later

The fuel began to jostle

Where play acted like pause once

Footsteps started to rustle

The caffeine was still in the air

The happenings hurried again

This time with a ghastly flair

And I... was still there.

/ 43

: 207

Eight Minutes

Eight minutes was all I needed

Too scared to ask

For even eight milliseconds

Asking for anything, anything at all

Even the thought of asking

Would break the facade that held tight

For who would know... And worse,

For she would know

What eight minutes meant

It was glass

Through which light would not pass

The light that shone bright

Was a mirage the sun built

That was necessary to brighten it up

To avoid any cracks

For the glass would break

Not with the thousand cracks

Nor shatter with the last

But with the one that was laid first

And that hollow cackle

Would be music still, chiming a lullaby

To hearts that never bothered

Eight minutes was all I needed

Eight universes built and destroyed

And rebuilt upon ashes

That smelled of hope

And tasted of resilience

Eight minutes of lights to blindside

Light too bright, no eye could see

Light too bright, for shadows to be blind

Supernova too exudes light

Lurking in the light

A unicorn danced to a musical mirage

Rainbows sparkled too bright

And the soul died

The suncatcher sang another song

Elated, in pomp and glow,

Belated, the news of death

None would ever know

Eight minutes was all I needed.

/ 40

: 208

Thursday, April 16, 2026

When The Seasons Talk

Autumn whites calming lines

Kash flowers swaying in their glory

The heart for the clear sky pines

But the air dries sooner, whites melting

The dew drops shine against the leaves felting

Sun-glow in the silver pre-winters in them shelting

The silvers speak to the winter grey

Asks it of the shy blooms lazing around

And the chilling layers letting grass fray

But the grey lets the way as the koels soon sing

The pretty spring in pink weaves lores in string

Trees smile letting flowery plumes in lawns swing

They smile at the summer's yellow

Telling the dreams of the sweetest fruits

Of lychees and mangoes, that never let a day be mellow

Slowly but surely, they lead to the days of rain

The green monsoons with the petrichor and sizzling corns reign

Clouds and sun play hide and seek,until it all repeats again

/ 18

: 146

Wednesday, April 15, 2026

My Reflection Sang

My reflection sang

An airy pop song I once used to sing

The lyrics to which my heart had once known

I left it somewhere, now the distance has grown

I tried to recall the scent of it

It had smelled of camphor and stained notes

And of one wax-sealed envelope

Lost of its sender, the hazed address gloats

I tried to remember the words again

Had felt of breezy linen, deep velvet then

A few hums, lines far-fetched for the sky

Perhaps of a bird too, that flew far and high

I tried to bring back the melody and tunes

That once tasted of cinnamon and a buttered June

A stamped secret ancient runes would never utter

It had my lips serenade and my heart stutter

My reflection smirked,

An expression I had long forgotten

There were traces of a stranger now

Built on the ruins of a jovial vow

A face surfaced, reflecting on my eyes

A voice murmuring there, an ode in disguise

A broken smile wearing a chiming mask

Like a cup of ginger tea pouring from a flask

An etching of the stranger, I kept in my heart

Pulsed a rhythm, a beat for the board of dart

A nightingale melody, from my own beloved track

To my reflection, I nodded and sang back

(My reflection smiled back

Though my breath stumbled,

And my voice cracked.)

/ 31

: 231

Tuesday, April 14, 2026

When the Sun Dances

A dawn chorus serenades the day to be

With koels, robins, and sparrows' song in glee

Crepuscular rays coyly wake up the sky

With pearl-scented purple clouds smiling shy

Scintillating rays of calmness seek the trees

Wisdom of liquid gold weaving with ease

Ripples of gold and gray linger and dissolve

Ensouls komorebi with rooted resolve

A day's worth of prayers, moments of gifted grace

The sun glides by, leaving Venus' rosy trace

Night in binds, it glissades in waves of greens and reds

With an airy ballon, charm of aurora spreads

Power of grace and calm of depth intertwine,

Life breathes when the sun dances divine.

/ 14

: 111

[ 33 27 36 15 ]

Monday, April 13, 2026

Sunflower Shadows

Who knows where the sun is

In the lawns of the sky,

Deep in those distances,

Imperceptible miles away.

Look closer, as the sunflowers steer,

I lie near the roots, sinfully near.

There's a promise of love's warmth,

But the test of longing stands true.

I, the slender Shadows*, notice the miles dissolve,

Even when the mood's bright or blue.

Let there be dream, let it be real,

For the Love that the flowers hold.

I bear witness to the sun's existence,

Let that savory truth be told.

I am the darkness that you will never face,

Left behind, near the nut-scented dust.

What was, is past, never leaving a trace,

Rested to embrace the green earth's crust.

On days when the clouds lurk,

Or the sun has journeyed to the other side,

I will still be there, faint, or along with night,

Letting peace find you, in Life's every stride.

/ 22

: 171

* "Shadows" is a collective term for the shadows of all the sunflowers. It is used as a persona here, as a singular entity.

Sunday, April 12, 2026

The Fence of De(f)viance

You asked me to build a beautiful fence.

But they told me,

to carve woods that should never be perfect.

I a̶d̶j̶u̶s̶t̶e̶d̶ improvised...

Perfection is a state of mind.

I would find an eclectic ornament.

The fence was taking shape...

But they told me,

to avoid openings and never make a gate.

I s̶t̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶a̶d̶j̶u̶s̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶ transmuted...

Openings are a matter of choice.

I would still find another way.

The fence still had its signature...

They took away my freedom to choose colors.

Colors that spell life onto emotions...

Restricted me to shades of rust,

sordid gray, morbid metal, and dust-tasting ochre,

that were already chosen and set.

I s̶t̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶a̶d̶j̶u̶s̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶ transcended...

Colors can be mixed and matched.

I would still find a hue of silver in there.

And now, you ask me

To stop using wood or bamboo

And even nails.

The jaundiced yellow you choose,

Is not of hope.

It's a trap.

For a muted race of non-humans.

And you expect me to agree this time too.

But mind you.

If I do, that wouldn't be a fence I make.

It would be an ensemble of bars,

That wouldn't captivate or capture.

But bind in chains of dreaded iron bars,

Where only fools survive.

Would it be too much iron-y at some point?

If it does, build a grave instead

Where humanity would r̶e̶s̶t̶ lie still.

Stuck.

/ 39

: 228

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A Little Something:

Prompt: Words Lost To Emojis

This piece is based upon two ideas, viz. the usage of emojis to replace words, and how the unintellectual usage and interpretation of artificial intelligence.

Emojis, which were created to add on the emotion factor to plain text, have completely taken over words and even emotions themselves. They have defeated the very purpose of their creation — to add warmth. Anyway, I had an article written on this but never posted it, thinking it might add to the coldness that emojis have already become.

Just because a few blatantly use artificial intelligence — again, defeating its very purpose — new guidelines (though informal) are being issued for any kind of writing that requires creativity. These may range from avoiding em-dashes and Oxford commas to even the use of metaphors! And yet, this piece uses them all — unapologetically. Compromising on proper grammar and literary devices can only mean one thing.

====================================

Saturday, April 11, 2026

Purple Path

The wait of wintered night is done

A burgundy dawn begins its run

The reverie chimes me in its talk

Upon the purple path I walk

Path so unbidden, royal, and rare

With a wise power and a mystical flair

A seminal magic that spring has spun

Upon the purple path I run

Path paved by Blissful Transcendence

Stellar begetters in innocent effulgence

Exalted beyond the amsel sky

Upon the purple path I fly

/ 12

: 74

Friday, April 10, 2026

Cadence by Turquoise Waters

Turquoise silk waters and golden rhinestones rays,

Beige velvet lace sands, shells embellished.

Gray and green palm pillars of whispery breath,

A salt-freshened aroma the zephyr relished.

Unfolding the wrinkles in time with grace,

Far in the skies, the sole cloud ambled on.

The small stretch of once-green grass swayed and rustled,

As the adolescent sun giggled and breezed on.

Dubious horizon let her wander in rippling memories,

Still as air, peace glimmered in her eyes.

Eyes fixed firm on the lulling waves,

Stories of her spring-kissed lips, the misty foam craves.

The shadows glided on, and moved to the other half.

The air too wavered, fusing from cold to willful warm.

The moon was in the day's foyer awaiting the sun,

She sauntered in her thoughts, her feet held firm.

On a wispy whim, or with a serene resolve,

She walked on, her feet leaving traces of her presence.

Waters and sands pondered for longing days

Of the smile in her eyes and her lingering essence...

The twilight now reminiscent of her cadence.

/ 21

: 174

Prompt: A Day Near The Sea

Thursday, April 9, 2026

Crumbs of L'Heure Bleue

Neither of day nor of night

A fleeting grace, ephemeral delight

A savory seed, in sweetness grown

An abode in a luscious cream tone

Spoons of flavors from Alice's world

A subtle whisper yet drastically bold

Imagination of the Mad Hatter,

Sweet wisdom of liquid gold

Colors from galaxies near and far

Landscapes of clouds and mythical lands

Aroma from the worlds unknown

A universe in a cookie or a scone

A tiny portion with nostalgia within

The evening snack sizzles, never meant to quite fit in.

/ 14

: 87

Alternate Title: Twilight Crumbs.

L'Heure Bleue (or 'The Blue Hour', as it is famously known in France) is the perfect time for an evening snack, which happens to be the prompt for today.

Wednesday, April 8, 2026

Breathing Cosmos

Easy to not notice

Easy to not realize

A concept so mundane

Yet beyond everything

Anything but plain

In millions of stars

Zillions of planets

And bodies

Beyond perceptions

There is or there is not

In "maybe"s even

An entity

Simple and complex

Is it dark or is it light

Or beyond these terms

Does it exist or

Does it not

Can binary even have

The audacity to categorize

If it is, where is it

And if not, then

What even is all this

Existentialism they term it

But then who's to know

Like this piece

Without rhymes or reasons

Without patterns or meters

Without rhythms and meanings

But is it with Life?

Life is a 1000 meters away

And some 3000 miles far

Not near my lungs or heart

Among the cuddles of a mind

That my soul calls its own

It identifies, it knows

As if that tiny thing

Is its entire cosmos

What even is cosmos?

Those breathing beings?

/ 39

: 162

Tuesday, April 7, 2026

Rooted Memories

Flying high

Leaping bounds

In the skies

Of the grounds

Across oceans

Pits of fire

Winged winds

Dainty desire

In whiffs of warm cocoa

Wafting through stores

Lotus and fresh linens

Redolent of Yours

In Sandalwood incense

Freshly mowed lawns

Nectarous Mango blossoms

During dewy spring dawns

In hues of yellow

And carnation pinks

Tints of clouds at dusk

In shades of inks

Here in satin sheets

Serenely muted

There in eternal depths

Memories rooted

/ 24

: 75

Monday, April 6, 2026

Sweet Blue Fire

Dormant wishes

In a cradle of smiles

That eyes sense

Yet the heart sees

The miles

Dimensions were held

In grasps of those

Who had some or none

While the fourth one

Travelled in steps

Around the milky way

Searching for a core

The roads were taken

With leaves that burnt

In orange and yellow

Deprived of oxygen

In enough molecules

A slothed standard

Was set in sand to follow

Of remnants, sauntering

In linear hollow

One soul of dreams

Glints stored in silk

Wrapped in whispers

Dew of pearly glitters

Irises in iridiscent glee

Sent Love of cerulean blue

Waiting to aflame at cue

Decades of memories

With centuries of passion

In an ocean of heat

And fuel to outweigh all air

Burns now; our sweet blue fire

/ 33

: 129

/5/7/9/7/5

Sunday, April 5, 2026

Raining Rainbows

In a land of wonders and silver springs

The sky reflected clouds with fluffy golden wings

Rows of crystal glistened in stages of rapture

Elysium in glimpses, the breeze did capture

But there too were roads of asphalt

That would never once break or be tempted to swerve

Even in moments and matters of clamour

It wouldn't let go and hassle every nerve

The Lifes* were happy in wired routine

Glassy armour with a ruptured grass screen

Air of lavender smelled of sulphur and some ore

Fragrance of breath distilled with metal of gore

But on a day like any other, a slant leaf fluttered

A peachy day of change, as cloud of gems muttered

Pearly drops of tiny prisms colored the thirsty air

Like a million stained glass sheets of iridescent flair

The managed sky broke into a downpour of liquid light

Not muddied or muddled brown gray of hidden plight

The sun awakened the colors that one could ever see

Not peeking behind fluff clouds anymore, it melted with glee

For days and days of chaos and peace that mattered

The earth bathed in rainbows, with plastic rules shattered

It breathed of fresh flowers and trees that swayed

A little raw, a little flawed, like a star remade

/ 24

: 210

* Lifes is intentional. Though the plural of lifes is lives, here (with a uppercase L) it is meant to be Lifes.

Saturday, April 4, 2026

Thus Spoke the Parchment

Decades or days...

Of winds and snow

Weight of stories

That I have seen and known.

I lived through days of spring

And summer nights

Beaten, drowned, and dried

A thousand lifetimes in plight.

I carry the memory

Of the forests and sun

Ready for words and art

With ink, well-spun

Every stroke of brush, a lightning bolt

Struck before, and will again too,

Perhaps with a sharper jolt.

Unafraid of the ink that stains me

And of the shadow that turns into art

Washed a thousand lives in the river

A thousand times from heart.

Awaiting a truth, gold-etched and fierce

That till eternity, will be signed "once more!",

A Great Noon of words

That Life would always adore.

Not merely a surface

I am a net of thousand deaths

Still a sacred beginning I claim

For I am the laughter of the stream

Captured in a frame.

Write on...

Of light and let the essence roll

I would never hide

But transmute it into something whole

Delicate as I am,

I let the world shine through

But tough enough

To not let the ink pierce my soul.

/ 36

: 189

====================================

A Little Something:

This piece tells the story of a parchment, Washi or Artisan Parchment, to be specific. The parchment is made from the Kozo plant, and involves a process rich in art and dedication that is truly inspiring.

This piece has inclusions that are allusions to Friedrich Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra. The "Once More!", for example, is a deliberate allusion to Nietzsche's "Noch Einmal!" in English.

====================================

Friday, April 3, 2026

Prism

The room with the solo window brooded

The weight of the curtains and heavy blinds

Were deafening enough for the air, it alluded

It complained to the soul in voices of all kinds

The star's gone; it urged to let go of the binds

A little glimmer, a tiny beam it craved

A mild chance for the blank to be braved

The next day,

It saw a tiny prism on the window sill

Victory for light at last,

The air let out a humming shrill

The light ray found it at the break of dawn

An array of colors from the rainbow it did spawn

It danced around the reflections

That were frayed, grayed, and brittle

Entered the untouched water-cup

Coaxed to move and break a little

The light was promised an air

That smelled of daisies in bloom

A room of yellow and cinnamon

And of exuberance in the loom

But the eclipsed pair of eyes there

Had their sight behind bars

Oh, they could see things around

But their vision, stolen by stars,

Nowhere to be found

Tricked into the walls that smelled of heart

Light has nowhere to escape or dart

Bouncing off broken mirrors

That lay without a sound

It still kept trying to dance around

But without a complete soul...

no music was found

/ 33

: 219

Thursday, April 2, 2026

Harmony in Contrasts: Wreathing Duality

The fire launches the LV* with a mighty embrace to kiss space

And the smoke, as its memory, smells the dust with a grey grace

The capsule in its journey, still... in the vast space of dark

Holds remnants of the ashy entropy, left among light and spark

The spark speaks of tales to the mighty ground, as it burns and soothes

The sky splashes ambrosia, veiled in hope and despair of youths

They search and find, explore and hide, the box Pandora** once had

Confusion and clarity aside, Hope-Fairy the mad box did add

In those hopes, they dwelled among feisty forests and witty waters

Mystics in cerulean depth and virid mane beyond authors

They led and followed, the light and dark of glassy bodies and souls

Unbeknownst to common knowledge, they mend and end old and new roles

For a festooned embrace of this and that is the way, spelt in writs

Intertwined in crests and troughs, dwells every life in blinking qubits

/ 14

: 165

* LV refers to the Launch Vehicles (or rockets)

** Pandora and Pandora's box is a reference to the Greek mythological character and the story of the box she had.

Wednesday, April 1, 2026

The Seed: Bliss in Beginnings

There once was a wide-eyed curious seed,

In a vase of pebbles and flowers, a tiny, quiet bead.

It smiled at the flowers and wondered with awe,

It spoke with the pebbles and thought of its flaw.

It heard of the sounds of air and roars of the sky,

And tales by the rays about dust that go awry.

The liquid silver from the skies would calm it down,

Cold as it may seem, they still had a colorful crown.

There was the shiver of the dew, when the flowers seemed to sleep.

The pebbles went silent, the sunlight... too precious to keep.

How often does the world change in the world outside its own?

The seed wondered, was it worthy to venture out and be s(h)own?

The dust ichor did taste of dark earth and a muddied loom,

But the gold-scented dawn caressed it, as leaves began to bloom.

/ 14

: 150

Pages

Monday, April 20, 2026

Sunday, April 19, 2026

Saturday, April 18, 2026

Friday, April 17, 2026

Thursday, April 16, 2026

Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Tuesday, April 14, 2026

Monday, April 13, 2026

Sunday, April 12, 2026

Saturday, April 11, 2026

Friday, April 10, 2026

Thursday, April 9, 2026

Wednesday, April 8, 2026

Tuesday, April 7, 2026

Monday, April 6, 2026

Sunday, April 5, 2026

Saturday, April 4, 2026

Friday, April 3, 2026

Thursday, April 2, 2026

Wednesday, April 1, 2026

About Me