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Sep 2013 · 531
Passed Prime
Sand Sep 2013
If dust is mostly a collection
Of my own skin cells,
I hope there is enough debris
So I can sculpt a new self,
Out of a past me.
Sep 2013 · 721
Untitled
Sand Sep 2013
My citrus hands
Brush against floured jeans
It’s one am
I’m a little delirious
A lot drunk
And find myself
Making lemon bars
Your favorite dessert
Hoping familiar taste
Will bridge the distance
Lemon custard filling the gap in my heart.
Sep 2013 · 5.4k
Peach Salsa
Sand Sep 2013
Peach salsa
Has that tangy taste
Between sweet and spicy
Burning tongues naughtily but nicely.

Peach salsa
Is the quiet librarian of dips
Unassuming until the bun comes undone
And blink of an eye she’s a firecracker in bed.

Peach salsa
Tastes a lot like you
And our Sunday afternoons
Experiments with papaya and pineapples
Tossed in with tomatoes and crying onions
The perfect recipe for a little change and a lot of disaster.
Sep 2013 · 1.1k
Silver Linings
Sand Sep 2013
Our lopsided home
Sandwiches between
Thickets of sycamores
Abandoned and resembling
A surfaced shipwreck
Was swept clean by the floods.

But we craftily smiled
Like pirates up on their luck
Adrenaline sweeping our veins
Pumping us to search for
Any remaining buried treasure
Because in that moment
We realized we were safe.

Rebuilding was rebirth
And this labeled tragedy
Shook up our monotony
Giving us our badly needed
Second chance.
Sep 2013 · 964
Personal
Sand Sep 2013
His smiled showed the deepest sincerity
So I opened up as intimately as possible,

He watched me ink up spotless white paper,
He watched my abstractions take life in language.
Sep 2013 · 729
Li(sense)d
Sand Sep 2013
When glass shatters
The cracks are instantaneous
Moving at 3,000 miles per hour
And while you moved 30 times slower
You managed to fly a grounded metal container
Into a lamppost with just one swerve
Crushing the casing like a soda can
The cracks were instantaneous
When the glass shattered.
Sep 2013 · 1.5k
Stormy
Sand Sep 2013
You taste like burned coffee and aftermath
But the rush of your hurricane always sweeps me away
So I’ll be the abandoned & boarded-up house
Shaking but still standing
Ever resilient against the whiplashing winds.
Sep 2013 · 3.1k
Gas! Quick Boys!*
Sand Sep 2013
Sarin –

An organic molecule
Used for inorganic purposes
Showering civilians
Effectively icing their insides
Contorting the human form into forced frozen sculptures
Acting as if torture was an art of the highest caliber
An acquired taste reserved for society’s finest
And this was the Michelangelo masterpiece.

Atropine –

The organic antidote,
Shoot up the stimulant to hurdle your paralysis,
Relax the respiratory muscles caught in your throat,
Your eyes team with tears because you’re allowed to melt,
Your eyes team with tears out of profound shock,
Your eyes team with tears because humans forgot humanity.
*Reference from Wilfred Owen’s Dulce Et Decorum Est.
Sep 2013 · 597
Haiku: Shadow
Sand Sep 2013
We walk together
But you always leave my side
When the darkness hits.
Sep 2013 · 787
Introspection
Sand Sep 2013
I looked under the desk
Beneath the bed
Ransacked the refrigerator
But came up empty.

I lost myself again
And finding me is always
The hardest process.

Maybe I should wear
A bell around my neck,
A fashion forward
“FIND ME” noose,
In preparation for the next time
I decide to disappear,
So that way my soul
Can’t scamper too far off
From my self.

Last time I was lost,
I was taped to the backside,
Of an upside-down penny,
Long forgotten on the sidewalk,
Rusting in the rain,
So copperized,
I was changed.

But now I’m a wearied traveler,
Craving comfort over building character,
And much rather just staple up signs:

      “LOST:  Five foot three female.
       Brown hair and black holes for irises
       That **** up all life in hopes
       Of soaking in the aliveness.
       HUGE $REWARD$ PROMISED!!”

But life isn’t so simple;
Inner peace is a cultivated growth
That sets it’s own pace.



So maybe I’ll feel like myself tonight
Or maybe I won’t feel whole for a year
But either way whatever
Smiles and scars my soul stockpiles
Becomes an extension of my existence,
An incorporation of my earthly-bound story.
Sep 2013 · 476
DGAF
Sand Sep 2013
Somedays
All I can do is
nod my head
mechanically.

Other days
I can’t muster
the strength
To just maintain
That simple motion
Because one more
methodical nod might
Snap my skull
From my spine
And I dream of
At least dying happy.
Sep 2013 · 2.5k
How To Not Get Rid of You.
Sand Sep 2013
In just seven steps, you can find out:

• How to make the best scrambled eggs
        [pepper ‘n love]
• How to improve Scrabble scores
        [suffixes are our friends]
• How to buy a house
        [budget before sealing the deal]
• How to think like Leonardo Da Vinci
        [infectious curiosity and commitment]

But despite the obscene amount of time,
I spend scouring and scrolling,
I can’t seem to stumble upon,
The part of the Internet,
That has the instructions,
To keep your heart happy,
While keeping my mind sane.

Perhaps the sadness and insanity,
Will be a welcome change,
Allowing us to rediscover each other,
In the most honest light.
Aug 2013 · 958
Unhealthy Addictions
Sand Aug 2013
You spat me out
Like stale gum
Left stuck on the sidewalk.

What’s worse?
I still would’ve been content
To be trampled by the sole of your shoe.
Aug 2013 · 1.8k
Obsession.
Sand Aug 2013
Had I know that yesterday
Was the last time
I’d have the chance to hold your hand
I’d never let go
I’d squeeze your carpal bones
So close that they’d snap
Built pressure bursting blood from your fingertips
Seeping onto my own skin
A subtly violent fusion
That would still hurt less
Than you walking away.
Aug 2013 · 413
Haiku: Teenaged Days
Sand Aug 2013
Pirated movies,
Kicking soda cans off curbs,
I’m a lame rebel.
Aug 2013 · 467
Haiku: Grip
Sand Aug 2013
I held you tightly —
The pressure cracked your ribcage
I loved you too much.
Aug 2013 · 1.6k
Me, Myself, & I
Sand Aug 2013
Lately, I’ve been dating myself:
Beaches,
Bars,
Bookstores,
& Bedrooms…
Self care superseded structure,
I’m the happiest spinster,
Because for once,
I’m myself.
Aug 2013 · 589
Catching Up
Sand Aug 2013
Over cheesecake and wine
You confessed how you felt like ****
Giving off the illusion of gold
You opened up like a fragile eggshell
Not realizing your cracks were unique
That your two halves could make a whole
That the process is delicate but doable.
I'm tipsy and tired so welcome word *****.
Aug 2013 · 868
Regrets
Sand Aug 2013
The exorcist spat out unsatisfied souls,
Steadfastly chained to breathing bodies,
Convincing the living that,
The dead haunt us.

But, when I examine autopsies,
I observe granular goosebumps,
Rising from sunken skin,
Scientifically speaking,
Corpses confirm the opposite:
Life haunts death.
Aug 2013 · 247
"I do" Haiku
Sand Aug 2013
You said “Marry me.”
By making it a statement,
You left me no choice.
Aug 2013 · 771
Trying Travel
Sand Aug 2013
Checker-boarding across countries,
I tuck my loneliness into my suitcase,
Neatly fold her between a cardigan and khakis,
Thinking that maybe if I’m lucky,
She’ll follow suit of my favorite sweater,
Last pictured in Lima,
And get lost.
Aug 2013 · 1.4k
Call Me Crazy
Sand Aug 2013
I sing my succulents to sleep
Sip teacups brimming with cold water
House fifteen strays who have forgotten how to purr
Because not everything needs to make sense
And in these oddities I find the strength
To rationalize your death.
Aug 2013 · 1.7k
Subliminal Shampoos
Sand Aug 2013
Wash
         Away the memories of how
        We tangled together
        Like the perfect sailor’s knot
        An organized intricacy  
        Coalescing my jumpy nerves
        With your easy laughter

Rinse
        The weight of your fingers
         Imprinted on my scalp
         A heartbreaking muscle memory
        Fingers that once ran through my hair
        Run to another’s touch

Repeat
        *This sadistic cycle of erasure
         Hoping one day forgetting
         Won’t be a conscious thought
         That shower shall set me free.
Aug 2013 · 1.7k
Curious
Sand Aug 2013
I was always curious about love,
But it was my caution I couldn't get rid of,
After all, curiosity killed the cat,
And I rather leave my head and heart intact,
But then you came skipping along,
Hated that my soul burst into a Bollywood song,
Stifling the feelings just didn't seem right...  
So, yeah, how about a date Friday night?
Aug 2013 · 1.6k
Accents
Sand Aug 2013
Tomato tomahto
Potato potahto --
Wear you accent
Like a badge of courage,
There's no shame in,
Nourishing your roots.
Sand Aug 2013
Everyone dismisses me as insane,
But I am a prophet,
Profiting,
On the inane.

When I get lost in stargazing
My cup of cardamom chai
Configuring constellations of cream,
I pocket piping hot horoscopes
Right out of the tea kettle.

Remember --
I drink in the universe,
Sanctimoniously symbiotic.

So the next time I offer,
To read your tea leaves,
Left dried at the bottom of the cup,
Don't scoff me off,
Because what I do,
Is translate the universe's art.
Aug 2013 · 1.1k
Star Crossed Lovers
Sand Aug 2013
The universe has you
So star struck,
That I need to anchor
You back to Earth --

Because while you're on a celestial search
For some extra terrestrial life,
You end up floating away,
From humanity and known strife.

And the gravity of this situation is,
I'm tired of tethering down my,
Space headed astronaut,
Who is too entranced to look back,
And see that the sea,
Swallows me whole.
Aug 2013 · 2.1k
Haiku: Ghar
Sand Aug 2013
When my Dadi blinks,
She becomes nostalgic for,
Visions of Punjab.
Immigration issues because sometimes, Skype isn't enough, or even often enough.
Aug 2013 · 601
Haiku: Dare to Dream
Sand Aug 2013
Ephemeral dreamers,
Are artists with bold visions,
Challenging what’s real.
Aug 2013 · 727
Haiku: Left Behind
Sand Aug 2013
You fell into love,
But I feel guilty because,
You left me in lust.
Aug 2013 · 1.2k
Glutton's Guilty Pleasure
Sand Aug 2013
My dear I’m so sorry but,
I must confess that,
I’ve had a love affair,
With flirtatious Mango.

Though you rather not hear it,
I feel like I must disclose,
How plump
And juicy
And wet
Everything was
A sticky mess.

He tricked my tongue,
Sent me into shivers,
Cooling me down,
From summer’s heat.

He hit the spot,
Made me feel whole,
But I consumed him,
****** him dry,
Spit the pit out,
And he never really recovered.

But for that matter,
Neither did I,
The taste of untamed passion
Is still ripe in my mouth.
Aug 2013 · 783
Body Parts
Sand Aug 2013
When I asked for a hand,
You lent me your shoulder,

When I tripped over my toes,
You caught me by the arm,  

So I found it funny that
When you asked for my heart,
You were already my backbone.
Aug 2013 · 876
Limitless Love
Sand Aug 2013
Scientists say that the average person,
Falls in love seven times before marriage,
But if this is true, I should officially declare myself
As a member of the spinsterhood because,
On average, I fall in love seven times a day.

Subway strangers
Witty waitresses
Bantering baristas

These temporary lovers,
Make me fall head over heels,
With just a glance,
An accidental brush,
A sly smile.

Maybe I’m not the marrying type –
After all, there are 7 billion 46 million people,
Bumping into each other on this planet,
And perhaps I don’t bump into “the one,”
Since I don’t believe in just “the one.”
Aug 2013 · 1.8k
Burning Beauty
Sand Aug 2013
72 ways to tell if your crush likes you
Always sent me in the worst preteen spirals
Because I wasn’t exactly sure how to casually check to see
If his pupils would dilate during our conversations
And, after a few seconds of my intense evaluation, he’d stop
And ask if he had food stuck in his teeth
And, if so, then I should be a pal and tell him
Because he wanted to impress
My best friend when she walked into the room.

That summer you two held an-end-of-the-year bonfire,
Where everyone brought their troubled old exams,
Bradburying their barely year old textbooks,
While toasting marshmallow s’mores atop the education protest.

My contribution was something more of a retribution,
Because I brought the poppiest, peppiest, most duplicitous,
Beauty magazine I owned
      [It made me feel ugly and unwanted,
       Judged me by my choice in mascara,
       And set me up for heartbreak all too young].
As I watched it catch fire and morph into molten,
I couldn’t help and laugh,
Relief flooded through my veins when I saw that,
Even when the deemed beautiful is destroyed,
It crumbled down to the same unidentifiable inked gray,
Earth to earth,
Ashes to ashes,
Dust to dust.
Aug 2013 · 2.4k
Cacophony
Sand Aug 2013
Like a discordant chord striking the piano deaf,
Or a saxophone that lost its swanky *** appeal,
When you breathe down the neck of my violin,
      The horsehair refuses to bow,
When you huff out your limitations into my harmonica,
      You disrupt my harmony,
Throwing me
                                                        offbeat.

[But I refuse to be beaten].
unless I'm a drum and you've got the right rhythm....
Sand Jul 2013
"I won’t let you go—"
I cut you off with a kiss,
I like my options.
Jul 2013 · 1.6k
Still Safe
Sand Jul 2013
When the thieves broke in,
They broke my mother’s heart,
They broke my naiveté,
They broke my maternal lineage,

By making her closet bare,
She stood barely recognizing it,
Stared at her safe,
Her
Bulletproof
Fireproof    
Apocalypse proof
Safe
Code c r a c k e d,
Deadbolt door eerily open.

“It’s just jewelry,” she muttered,
        [Passed down from one generation to the next,
        Dating back to an invaded India,
        Surviving six hundred soldiers,
        Smuggled within folds of saris through seas,
        Stories etched in souvenir gold].

“At least we’re all safe,” she stated with conviction.
        [Yet I couldn’t help but feel,
        A physical furthering,
        From my immigrant ancestors,
        Who passed along secrets with every pendant,
        Who whispered hopes in every ornate hairpin,
        Who stored their aspirations in every accumulation:
        Real riches knit with poetic prospers from the past].

How funny
To imagine the thieves
Pricing a priceless object --
Ironically making it worthless
Because the burglary left behind
The heritage.
There are some things that people can’t steal from you like where you’ve come from and what you’ve learned.
Jul 2013 · 800
Clowns
Sand Jul 2013
I learned to juggle with oranges,
You learned to juggle with women.

Many oranges fell,
Dropped,
Bruised,
[Learning process after all],
But I mastered the trade.

I can only pray you didn’t.
Jul 2013 · 736
Haiku: Life & Death
Sand Jul 2013
The night you told me,
I have never felt so free,
I suffocated.
Jul 2013 · 1.5k
On Self-Love
Sand Jul 2013
On really good days
I'll leave a crisp five
In the back pocket
Of my ratty blue jeans.

That way when my future self
Feels as fragile as spun sugar
But tastes like burned bitterness
And needs to shake herself awake
Drag herself from chore to chore,
Convince herself that collapsing isn’t a cure,
[Though doesn’t the cold tiled floor feel refreshing?]
She’ll only have clothed in comfort:

         Her baggy gray sweatshirt,
         Consuming her body whole,  
         Making her shapeless,
         So maybe she can shape shift,
         Into a bird or a bat or a pterodactyl,
         And make the most of her new wingspan,
         Flying further from her fractured reality,
         Into a fabulously far-fetched fantasy.

        Her ratty blue jeans haphazardly thrown on,
        So worn that there are holes in the knees,
        Frayed hemline attesting to the tired trampling,
        But when she tries to shove a ***** tissue,
        Into the back pocket hoping it’s mere placement,
        Is enough to leave the memory behind her,
        She’ll stumble upon a long forgotten monetary love note.

Yes, you do love yourself,
Yes, I know it’s rough now,
In fact, I guessed it way back when,
But life is just a series of juxtapositions,
And maybe you’re in a hole dug so deep,
That you’ve burrowed out into China,
And now look, really look,
You’ve got a world of exploring to do!
But if you’re not yet strong enough to
Climb the Great Wall,
Don’t you worry,
Building endurance takes some time,
But until then,
Here’s a crisp five,
Go buy a Kit-Kat,
A can of Sprite,
And a cheap horror flick,
And never forget,
I always love you.
Jul 2013 · 3.7k
Estranged Company
Sand Jul 2013
3 AM and the famed
“World’s Best Coffee”
Isn’t doing the trick.

Dawn at diners
Is where the lonely
Gather for company
‘Cause we’re tired of
Laying alone on a bed
Too big for one
Too small for our thoughts
Too much of a reminder.

[Your imprint still fresh,
An outline to the right side of my pillowcase,
And some nights,
When I’m consumed by thoughts of you,
I’ll crawl into the depression,
And let the space engulf me,
Until I remember that,
Just ‘cause you laid on the right side,
Didn’t mean you were always right,
And a strange metaphorical hope
Bubbles out of me,
When I remember that
Hearts tilt to the left,
But, when you left,
It was quite heartless.]

We prefer indistinct strangers
Who we secretly hope
Have stranger problems
That maybe they’ll share
To make ours seem more bearable
But, more often than not,
We sit in a shared silence
Fatigued, insomniac, alone together,
The (lonely) only chatter with the night shift waitress.

— The End —