The universe loves a bad joke.

As the evening ticks on
I sit and ponder
Inside my restless spirit
I witness the comings
And goings
Of all the people
Through the pixels of black
Scrolling or trolling
The ether holds such power
Yet it’s substance is weak
Usage of color inside words
A slip of the keys
Portrayal in portraits
In lives out of the hives
But what is the point
Engaging in this parade
Do you show off your mask
Create those tasks
So I wonder again
If I’m in the right place
Or did I just end up
In a new trap for me

what hurts most
is loving with all of your being
and still not being enough

0 - 3 babi (3 years)
3 - 8 Sketchy Areas (6 years)
8 - 14 Troubled Academic (7 years)
14 -18 Emo prince (4 years)
18 - 23 The reliant client (5 years)
23+ non-bines ☮ (??? error 404)

I see a spectacle of colors appear before my mind
an epochal of lusters that seem undefined
who is the adjuster, of how the patterns are designed?
a red and orange criss cross and then suddenly align
then a quiver of green shivers and intertwines
enter in a wall of golden blue that sparkles and shines
different hues of purple that leave my pupils blind
helping me see a balance of energy and time
in a circle of synergy that’s spins perfectly aligned

I used to read your poems
but lately you don't write
you're silent and aloof
you know that isn't right.
You can't close a door once opened
you can't abolish all your dreams
you're a poet of the heart
mustn't fall apart at the seams.
Say what you can in words
they speak the message true
spoken from the heart
the poems will see you through.
A hermit's not your style
a recluse, you are not
never give up writing
of things that you've been taught.
I used to read your poems
I'd read them once again
if you would send them out
(this one's from a poet friend)

They said,
"The most beautiful art is
looking into someone's eyes
when they talk about the
things they love."
And I said,
"Or looking at someone you love.
Or maybe, just maybe,
by looking at the mirror
is the most beautiful art
anyone should appreciate."

In the morning of yesterday
There were strangers talking in my garden, heads close together
Intent on each other, in whispers
I heard them say your name
And the earth shifted a little...the season moved forward a little
And I heard myself sigh like a dreamer

Harvesting hearts and marigolds
The thief steals in when we least expect it, masqued and lithe
Wanting an exploration of Souls
Oblivious, if we’re generous
But still the knife cuts deeply...the blade turns without intention
And I’m bleeding out like a Madrigal

I loved you too much in the Mirrorfall
I found you in the violin’s shadow
Dust and star tears are my witnesses
I love you
My joy and my abyss

The greatest darkness
Stark
Next to the bleakest light
Intertwined
Snake
Winding
Into sparkling champagne stars
And out of sight
Winding mountains
Green and dark
In foreign moonlight
The scent of jasmine
And the duality of
A sin
Called life
Slithering
Like soothing words
In the darkness
Always light

She said "I'm falling in love."

I said "I'm falling apart."

So many poems
and stories
have gone unwritten
due to fear of not being good enough

All our problems, we denied
Leaving our phones behind
Riding all night into the rising sun
Worrying parents but having fun.
Heaven kept letting us down
So hell was our playground.
Took all the pain and boxed it
Burnt bridges that were toxic
Made civilizations jealous
They died trying to tell us
All we needed was each other
Until you went, and found another.

she must have been 50
Katz was her name
now that,  was a dame

You were bad at it, she was okay with it.
You told her about it, she said it doesn't matter to them.
You still wanted to improve it, she decided to make it happen.
You were trying to improve it, she was patient with you.
You were improving, she was cheering you.
Today you are good at it, and she is very happy
not because she made it happen but because you achieved it

If there comes a time
that you might lose me
Find me in my poetry

I brought her to the hospital
And I know she is in pain
She says she’ll die today
But I know she’d sustain.

As painful it may be
As fearsome it may seem
My legs are shaking deep inside
I can hear her Scream.

You’d say I can’t feel the pain
She says its life threatening
I believe she’ll do it well
This moment of awakening.

The Doctor consoles her gently
The nurses prepare the room
My heart beats fast, yet sinks a bit
My baby is about to bloom.

I watch the process in silence
My heart is aching slow
The Doctor asks her to push
Our Child will make Her Glow.

Its a Girl and She’s beautiful
I heard the Doctor say
Everyone knows I cried
Saying Happy Mothers’ Day!!


Prashant Shaurya ©

All Rights Reserved
06/05/2021

P.S: I wrote this in the labor room while watching my wife give birth to our Daughter. It took me about 5 to 7 minutes to write till the second last stanza. I wrote the last stanza after seeing my newborn baby. My Daughter is my Universe!!

You are the abundance of stars only visible to the dreamer in the wake of night

The sun and its companions as they glow to shine a light on the surface of your skin

You are the mischief that forms the toothy grin on the face of a child’s curiosity

The everlasting glow on their faces as they question the world around them

And I am lost in translation, confused, amused and somewhat enchanted

To you I am the clouds that hide away your blue skies

But to me I am the ones that shield you from the glare of a jealous sun

And to each other we are foreign, bordered and misunderstood

Lost in translation I’m waiting for you to understand ,
That to you; you’re nothing, but to me; you’re my dreamland

Nature is incomprehensible to your sidewalk mind
Structures with no name are merely that to you
Wet ground is a fairytale to you
Not the sensation you feel taste and smell on a Sunday

Human tree of knowledge has two branches . Greek evidence and Indian advice
if Delhi aches once , Athens aches twice. if Athens couldn't sleep Delhi sings her a song and kisses her dimples
if Delhi couldn't breath Athens
blows the the flames of love
in  her   timples  
if  our tree witheres we all pay the price.
breath my beloved India breath
we are all with you when death casts his dice.

your name is
forbidden in
my mouth
or in my heart
because when
i think about
you;

i'll cry a little more,
hurt a little stronger
love a little softer
because you no longer
make me feel sober

i'm drunk on the
memory of you

I love him
I tell myself
I know that
We will be together forever
I don’t believe that
We could be separated
My thoughts tell me that
He’s the love of my life
Sometimes my heart lies and says
I could live an eternity
Without him
Like my friends say
“We’re perfect for each other”
And you can’t tell me
He’s not the one.

Now read from bottom to top.

i spend my days
pouring myself into the cups of others

only to find that
when it’s time for myself
to take a sip

all that’s left
in my cup
is the remainder of a girl
who gave too much