Dictum

It is for the queen to suffer
Without shedding one tear.

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I’m beautiful, it’s just that you don’t have the eyes
I’m divine, it’s just that you don’t have faith
I’m the answer, it’s just that you’ve stopped asking
I’m your dream, it’s just that you sleep no more
I’m the sweetness of your memories, it’s just that you’ve forgotten.

Dying

As days go by, labels shrink
and wither away like dead skin.
I am not even narcissistic anymore.
Only delusional.

The Beginning of the End

Amidst the most mundane household chore,
with no warning at all, a ball of grief
coiled in my gut, rolling up to explode
in my skull. It was an untamed creature,
which left in its slithering wake a brief
burst of toxins, killing love in its slow spread.

(16)

I'll serenade you with love songs - thousands
of them. But you tire easily of my words.
If only we could be together in silence
Then, in the dark, I’d speak to you without words.

(15)

I’m drunk on pain – heady fumes lodge in my throat.
My hurts are but clichés - a trite stretch of debris,
yet the anguish is not dulled, not by a mote.
If thou wilt, remove this chalice from me.

(14)

Your honesty is like a second voice --
It clings to your own in a ghostly glow
Sometimes soothing and drowning all noise;
at other times, exploding in a deafening roar.

(13)

Your fire has consumed me, my life is now
a joyous flame. But soon, you will go
and leave my world cold. Tell me how
I’ll keep myself warm. Christe eleison*. Don’t go.

* Christ have mercy

(12)

This senseless longing is the eye of a twister --
your face ripples along its whirl pooling walls.
Trapped in the spinning vortex of its lure
my body is ravaged by violent squalls.

(11)

Among all the terrifying wrongs that spread across
all tenses, I find the most terrifying right – You.
Why then, do I have to let you go - when your loss
will drown me in a sea of wrongs, with no rescue.

(10)

Why do I love you? You might as well inquire
why leopards are spotted or circles are round
Just so you know, there are no reasons anymore;
only the knowledge that you’re the shore I’ve run aground.

Warning

(i)
I don’t have a god, neither yours nor mine
Since that makes me less worthy of your God’s love,
would it follow by default
that I become unworthy of your love too?

(ii)
I have forsaken and desecrated those beliefs
that, ironically, form the core of your being.
Would I be forsaken and evicted from your mind
for that very reason?

(iii)
I disregard age old norms that I consider foolish
I am not afraid to be the first one
to break tradition, I’ve done that often.
Would you be able to live with that?

(iv)
My love is rooted in freedom,
by itself, it draws no boundaries.
They are to be drawn by you,
and it’s more difficult than you imagine.
Would you be willing to put in the effort,
and would you willingly step inside?

(v)
I wouldn’t deem serving you food
a responsibility that weighs heavy on my shoulders,
neither ironing your clothes nor straightening your wardrobe.
However, I will bring you food even if I starve
and clothe you even if I freeze to death.
Would you be comfortable with that?

(vi)
Money is not important to me. I like luxury, but there is no craving.
I will not nag you to save and keep for the future
So you might end up penniless.
My money and your money, will be your money.
So, if you save, you save, else no.
Will you blame me for ending up with ‘no future’?

(vii)
Talking of saving. And risking repetition
I have no saviour who will save my soul
from burning in the eternal fires of Hell
Except for you, if you want to see me in your Heaven
You will have to take me there yourself.
Would you risk heaven for love?

(9)

Your name spontaneously manifests in each
icicle of thought, and feathers out like cumulo nimbi.
I have to be careful - in my sleep and in my speech,
lest a wispy cloud should tumble out in a sigh.

Valentine

Honey, you put me in such a quandary
All I can give you are some pretty words
on which you’d throw an idle glance. Maybe
a breezy “Lovely, babe”, if you feel generous

enough and then dismiss. You want more.
What can I give you? Gifts.com is no good,
I cannot let piddling website junk touch your
beautiful fingers (and if I really could

I’d let nothing touch you or even see you)
Perfume? Too wimpy. (Besides, I love your smell)
Heart shaped chocolates? Now that smacks too
much of consumerist Valentinism. Maybe you could tell

me what you want. And would you want more?
I love the sound of the word, when you whisper
‘Some more’, ‘Give me some’, Sigh! Mon amore!
Take what you want, love, you’re my Valentine forever.

(8)

That you will leave, is truth eternal
And when you do, the sun will burn down.
It’s inevitable. Till then I might as well
allow myself your love and smile like a clown.

Blank Mail

Among assorted official correspondence,
a blank mail from you nestles lack lustre.
Why has it come to pass that our romance
must end now, so too our grand adventure?

(7)

How do I thank you for your faithfulness!
For one so sought after and desired,
it is to belong to me that you choose.
I cast no spells, yet I have you enraptured.

CSMP

Choco flavoured yummy cornflakes
Clatter against white ceramic bowl
Dollops of milk swirl and splash
Crispy chompy crunch in the mouth.
Mmmmmm. I like.

Stud - singular, garrulous, decidedly entertaining
Most ‘ooo mama’ – eliciting
No mere work horse, but brain-bran noble steed
Easy on the eye, easier on the mind.
Mmmmmm. I like.

Muffin to have with tea, with currants inside
Soft, spongy, heavenly aroma
Melt in the mouth, coat the tongue
Bring out the glutton inside, eat baby eat.
Mmmmmm. I like.

Poet. Write about the sky the fields the ship
Death love life work sex fun
Songbird, lovebird, likebird, friend
Seeker of truth, curious cat
I like. I miss. I loved.

A Time to Reap

The seeds were sown a long time ago,
they have yielded an abundant crop.
Emptiness took root and spread on fallow
land - post card perfect now, against the backdrop
of frozen clouds that once wept caustic tears
to wilt laughter weeds. Stalks of solitude
bear ripe grains of silence, the reaper appears
with a scythe. All business shall now conclude.

Perfect Stranger

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t behave so;
Lately, though, I’ve been thinking of a stranger
from a far away place and a long time ago.
I don’t know him. Like I said, he’s a stranger.
Never before have I written for someone I didn’t know!

(Abecedarian)