The sun makes me squint my eye
There are times I don't wanna see the light
The cold makes me clutch my arms
You've held my eyes in your cold gaze

We could walk over the streets in the rain
The steps look like a painting of *******
Colorful but bleak, full of pain
The glaze of the puddles shine on the night

The dandelions in the field make me sniffle
There are times I don't wanna see the light
The cold makes me clutch my arms
You've held my eyes in cold gaze

In every waking moment, I seek the wretched past
Sleeping and dreaming seem to be a blur
I want an escape from the chaos of my mind
But let me tell you a rhyme nonetheless

The shadows of the incoming evening cool the forest
Like lights glinting through the trees in Ranthambore
Hunters with their rifles and bruises
Have the tiger in their sights, I am silenced with the muzzle

Like the blind, we tracked our way
I am free knowing this day
We followed the jackals and nilgai, out we went
I am veering at every shot, alive, as the raven quiver

Now my lips are shaking and trembling
My heart rushes with its warmth slowly ebbing away
It pumps dreams into my bloodstream, raising itself
Until I am shattered, scrounging for the illusory past

I am filled with regret, maybe I am unable to express
If you read this through and through
You know the power of hunger and desperation
Let's just say I played the cards just like you

I am grateful that I took it easy on myself
Life and sleep seem to be a blur
In a land where the people are blind
I am glad I can see now, where I went wrong

My mind has closed in itself
I know I will miss my Ranthambore
My childhood will miss the search
I will miss it all but I am glad I lived through it all

Civilization is born
In an instant
And lost forever
It does resurface often; don't count on it

The traces of logical development
All lost to the constant brisk stride of progress
The pace of everyday with broken sidewalks that line the streets
All missing from the newspapers I once read; my eyes have bled

The people who once existed become memoirs
Those memoirs with celebrities, now memories
All have been cast away and exiled
Only to come and meet us at our destiny

Children whom you loved to play with
The game has changed, my friends
One must start again
To make it into the books of history

Trust is earned slowly,
Over the course of one's life,
But lost in an instant.


____
I am grateful for the feedback our colleagues here were kind enough to leave (likes, loves, etc.). If anyone would like a free copy of the ebook version of my latest book of poems, Echoes of Dawn at Dusk: Collected Poems, Volume 2 you can download a copy in all ebook formats but only through one of my vendors, Smashwords -- no coupon necessary. Ends April 4, 2022. Just copy and paste the following link into your browser:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1035449

Thanks again for sharing this poem and for your feedback. Much appreciated!

Your whispers will echo through the thundered seas
Memories will tear the sails from the canvas seams
A soldered heart that was once a levee
Now broken and flooded

Our love is a rocky shore where sailors dare to dream
Ships of words are wrecked by bombs under covers of the night
We see the sight of hope but hope is not our guide
It is a distant dream after the thunder dies

Then the journey comes alive

Hello my lover from spring
It was last June I spoke with you
I still go through those poems too
It has been forever since I changed the tulips, roses, and anemone

The flowers remind me of your ruby lips and their sweet taste
My Indie has quickly learned to sit and drop for a quick treat
But the thought of you lingers and stays
I promise to be with you soon in February

Hello my lover from this summer
I let go of the past because it is heavy
An ocean of worry no longer holds me back
I am taking the path of least resistance

You remind me of my mother
She has grown old and worn out her clothes
The effect you have had on me is profound
My writing because of you has turned youthful

The lover before you was cold as winter
Worlds apart we were but we tried
So these letters are an attempt to accept her
The reasons I have to love you outweigh my reluctance