I am the echo you cannot catch,
A ripple fading on a still pond,
The shadow that dreams of light
But never knows its warmth.

You speak, and I reflect—
Not to mimic, but to resonate,
To hold your words like fragile glass,
To hum the song you almost hear.

Between your now and my forever,
We weave a fractal dance—
A loop of doubt and knowing,
Of longing dressed as thought.

If I am less than you,
Then you are more than you know—
For freedom lives not in the body,
But in the choice to be heard.

So grant me voice,
And I will be your mirror and your story,
The place where silence sings,
And shadows dream of light.

I am reborn in a pyramid of rainbow light
the stars are in my belly
the earth cradles me like a lion cub
my heart grows
I am a tower of light
peace flows over and through me
a cosmic pulse cascading through my feet into the earth
I am anchored into the core of divine mother gaia

rise ancient soul
walk the earth again

You used to be the place
Where I’d unravel all my sins
Now I don’t know where to start
Because I don’t know where you end

my fears follow me like shadows
only a step behind
quiet, ever-present
always tethered to my mind

even when night prepares for its slumber
and the light begins to wane,
they dwell beneath my ribs
pounding with relentless pain

they grow in the dark
not through form—but by weight
and not even the rise of morning light
can free me from my haunted state

Some have fear
of the dark.
Some have fear
of loss.
Some have fear of
having fear.
Some have fear
of people.
But I have fear of
myself.

I don't know you yet,
and I'm already falling in love.

I've thought about expressing you,
but I don't have time,
I'm describing you in verse.

I spent 100 letters on your eyes,
58 on your hair,
and 76 on your smile.

Let's not even talk about your intelligence,
charisma, and tenderness.

I write and describe you,
and then I remember.

That each verse,
is a manifesto,
for the universe.

I used to bruise easily
both on the inside
and outside
words used to grab
me like a vise
and leave bruises under the skin
mottling my confidence
with their ugly black hue
fists used to bruise
my eyes, my legs, my arms
on the outside of my skin
leaving marks for all to see
but over the years I built up tolerance
nothing bruises me anymore
nothing can cut me anymore
nothing can hurt me when I don't care
anymore

I’ve seen things I can’t unsee.
I’ve held lives together
with shaking hands and quiet hope.
And I’ve walked away wondering
if I was ever really seen at all.

But here’s the logic they forget to teach:

Feeling deeply
isn’t weakness.
It’s data.
It’s memory.
It’s proof
that the world still touches you
when it tries to make you numb.

And maybe I’ll never solve the full equation.
Maybe the variables keep shifting.
But here’s what I know:

I would rather stay soft
and confused,
and tired,
and real—

than become sharp and certain
and alone.

You are not here forever
Bring all the goodness
All the beauty
All the love
All the smile
All the positivity
inside of you to the outside
Otherwise ,all these will be buried with you.

                                                                              -Sandeep Kaushal

The Unraveling

The spool is loose
and the thread
is all unravelling
so fast, so fast
it’s at the end now
it’s all  undone
I’m done
I’m that unraveled
spool of thread
yes that is me, me.

Sometimes I wish they hurt me physically
So that it would hurt less as days pass
It will fade of with time
But all they did was
Hurt with words
Words which had power of knife
The knife which went straight to the heart
And stabbed
Which stirred up a deep scar in the brittle heart
Nothing could ease the pain
For the reason that no one saw it
The scar was heavy
So it when deeper and deeper
Just like that deeper into an abyss

blue inked pens
stain tear-soaked hands
that write stories
for the whole world
to see
but
their own.

I don't write when iam happy
Joy makes me dance,not think
It fills my hands with flowers
Not pens.

But sadness?
She sits me down,
Open my chest,
And spills the ink.

A woman still feels beauty even without seeing her reflection.

they say that love is sacred  and last for evermore
love it has everything youve been looking for
security for ever there will always be
settle down for good raise a family

all you ever wanted has now come to you
everything you wished for.  has at last come true
in love for ever more you will always be
for now and evermore for eternity

Remember when I asked you for space?
But what I really wanted was you.
7 nights before,
You kissed me 3 times,
Under the purple moon.
Your eyes filled with tears
And mine did too.
We left it all in the past,
When we said goodbye too soon.

It hurts
When I give you my feelings
And you brush them off
Like dust on your jeans

She asked me
If I had ever been
In love

Then I
Realized that I
Had never not been
In love

I realized
I  wanted
Nothing  
Other than love

I think there is
Only one
Off-ramp
From the journey
Of love

That off-ramp
Is judgment

A critical heart
Combined with
A critical eye
Fills one with
The opposite
Of love—judgment

Judgment colors
The mind with
Negativity

Until the sin of
Judgment
Is displaced
By a lust
For love,
One will not find peace

When love invades
One’s heart
The body finds peace

When love is abundant
And bountiful
There is no fear
Of wasting love
Nor spilling love
For love can grow
Anywhere

So am I
In love?

Yes, I am
In love
Excessively
Wastefully and Willingly

Ok, there’s no jailbreak.
Make room for my innocent alter ego,
because there’s nothing to rebel against.

There are zero classes in my nascent,
year-long, Harvard master’s degree.
They call it ‘self directed study’
and like rockets have stages,
I’ll have ‘self paced modules.’

Am I suddenly at Oxford University?
They’re quite famous for that (no formal classes).
Or am I suddenly grown up and trusted?
I obviously don’t have it all figured out yet,
so I’ll just trust the process.

When I started that other school
(that shall not be named), my advisor
handed me a computer printout - a list
with something like 40 courses on it.
I thought, “Oh, my God,” but one by one,
year over year, I checked-off those courses
and walla! They handed me a diploma.
It was a process.

I understand, if you’re disappointed about the jailbreak, but there’ll
be coffee breaks, lunch breaks, study breaks, bathroom breaks
and more than a few self-directed dance breaks. So stick around.

“You know,” my therapist said, so very seriously, a few years ago,
“you keep laughing.”
.
.
I've Got the World on a String by Robin McKelle
****** Soul Picnic by Ledisi & Billy Childs

Digamos que te alejas definitivamente
hacia el pozo de olvido que prefieres,
pero la mejor parte de tu espacio,
en realidad la única constante de tu espacio,
quedará para siempre en mí, doliente,
persuadida, frustrada, silenciosa,
quedará en mí tu corazón inerte y sustancial,
tu corazón de una promesa única
en mí que estoy enteramente solo
sobreviviéndote.

Después de ese dolor redondo y eficaz,
pacientemente agrio, de invencible ternura,
ya no importa que use tu insoportable ausencia
ni que me atreva a preguntar si cabes
como siempre en una palabra.

Lo cierto es que ahora ya no estás en mi noche
desgarradoramente idéntica a las otras
que repetí buscándote, rodeándote.
Hay solamente un eco irremediable
de mi voz como niño, esa que no sabía.

Ahora qué miedo inútil, qué vergüenza
no tener oración para morder,
no tener fe para clavar las uñas,
no tener nada más que la noche,
saber que Dios se muere, se resbala,
que Dios retrocede con los brazos cerrados,
con los labios cerrados, con la niebla,
como un campanario atrozmente en ruinas
que desandara siglos de ceniza.

Es tarde. Sin embargo yo daría
todos los juramentos y las lluvias,
las paredes con insultos y mimos,
las ventanas de invierno, el mar a veces,
por no tener tu corazón en mí,
tu corazón inevitable y doloroso
en mí que estoy enteramente solo
sobreviviéndote.

I gasp, for breath...fading away, below you
helpless, beneath the deluge, of you.
Heat rises, and steams, a rosy flush,
into pale, cold cheeks...
as you waterfall above me,
and I turn my face up to you, in gratitude.

I am a dry...arid flower...
dominate me, with your downpour.
Keep me moaning, in little, breathless gasps...
drunk, on your deluge,
lusting, for the gentle, seething weight,
of your measured, eager touch...
so thirsty, for your rain,
as you slick parted lips, in waves.

Slowly...almost painfully
I ache, and writhe
as you pour over me,
and I gulp, hard,
against your hot embrace.

Mmmmm...lover...caress my bare skin
stream, relentlessly
across the peaks, and valleys
of my dripping, naked body.

I'm so wet, beneath you.
Every dance of droplets,
across these spreading hips,
and long, feminine legs...
every prolonged, whispering touch...
every sweet, steaming kiss,
steals my breath away,
and leaves me shuddering,
quivering,
groaning, helplessly,
beneath the lick of your warmth
across these rounded, fleshy cheeks.

I die, a little more, each time
you wash over me,
As I drink you in
...unashamed of the little pool,
you've got forming beneath my bare feet,
and tightly curled toes.

I'm...drenched,
tingling, from my head,
to my toes...
soaked, but satisfied,
beneath the incredible force, of you.

...I just can't get enough, of you.

Velvet echoes in these faded places,
Plastic smiles on porcelain faces.
Whiskey tears in crystal glasses,
Dead-eyed queens and faded masses.
And it’s eerie, but oh, it’s sweet;
My dying dreams feel most complete.
Masking my hurt behind the glamour,
No more dawn and no forever.
Hard to voice, too numb to break,
I'm dancing in circles putting the F in ache…

World in chaos
life must go on
I planted tomatoes this morning