#NaPoWriMo: One Life To Live

Showing posts with label #NaPoWriMo. Show all posts

Thursday, April 30, 2026

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.

/ 47

: 192

Wednesday, April 29, 2026

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

Tuesday, April 28, 2026

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

Monday, April 27, 2026

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

Sunday, April 26, 2026

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

Saturday, April 25, 2026

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

Friday, April 24, 2026

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

Thursday, April 23, 2026

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

Wednesday, April 22, 2026

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

Tuesday, April 21, 2026

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.

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

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 ]

Pages

Thursday, April 30, 2026

That Was April

Wednesday, April 29, 2026

Until Next?

Tuesday, April 28, 2026

Dialogue With The Muse

Monday, April 27, 2026

Three Breaths Later...

Sunday, April 26, 2026

This Was Not On The List

Saturday, April 25, 2026

3AM

Friday, April 24, 2026

Here's What I Remember

Thursday, April 23, 2026

Heeling Heals

Wednesday, April 22, 2026

Cafe Stories in 17 Breaths

Tuesday, April 21, 2026

Charting DNA Dreams

Monday, April 20, 2026

Beneath The Big Dipper

Sunday, April 19, 2026

Nothing New

Saturday, April 18, 2026

Long Lost Diary

Friday, April 17, 2026

Airport Happenings

Thursday, April 16, 2026

When The Seasons Talk

Wednesday, April 15, 2026

My Reflection Sang

Tuesday, April 14, 2026

When the Sun Dances

About Me