That Was April

Dawn chorus as the shadows kneel,

A misplaced wish crawling... 

Milk yet to spill.

Fool's day: an empty shell of fun,

Embracing music going deaf, 

Sipping on overhead sun.

A beginning... Any other could have been...

That was April, 

Began...

In dusted sheen. 

A day dressed in purple silk, 

Drenched in butter,

An evening of messy stroll, 

A cocoa-stained letter.

List of 'to-be' and 'to-do's 

Framed, 

Erased, 

And hidden...

A new venture danced, 

Then held hostage,

Unseen.

Sour tears, one sweetening mango, 

Year's worth of wait,

Breath craving eight minutes, 

Syllables spewing weight.

Familiar alien in tepid vessel 

Of thirty-four (Å) eras and stories,

Reminiscing sky and light

In towers of seventeen storeys.

In darkest shade of blue

Muse is awake 

Gallivanting relief on cue

Bead of sleep, 

Threaded upon yellow gerbera, 

Long held due.

Push and pull, 

Jazz on a whim of pause and play,

Tree of golden showers

Spreading wings, paving for a Lay.

A decade of seconds and minutes... 

Ones of rattle and wrinkle,

A little flawed, a little frayed, 

Feathers in ruffle.

A trace of passion, too, 

Memories wrapped in tinsel,

Ounces of love on lips, 

That... was April. 

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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?

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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?         

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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.

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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. 

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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.

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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. 

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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. 

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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

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