What can I give you
That you have not already
Taken,
What can I say
That I have not
Uttered now?
Time will tell
If you change
Or stay rooted
To your chains

I hear
Hindi
In the hallway—
Suddenly
My American
Lips
Can taste
The masala
In your kiss;
I smile
And let the memory
Travel
Across the sea
Where it belongs

Poetry
Is music—
Add some rhythm
Blues
And discord
To hear it sing

You pour
Your heart
Out to me;
I pull
The courage
Out of you.
What a delicate
Vibrant
Vulnerable exchange

Being in love
With someone—
Fragile
As glass;
Being in love
With yourself—
Strong
As stone

I am
Tired
And it has nothing
To do with
Sleep
And everything
To do with
heart

Does it make me
Strange
To crave connection,
Does it make me
Weird
To demand respect.
Am i other
For asking for more
And expecting
To be treated
What I’m worth
And am I
Wrong
To see love
In such wild
Caricatures
That all prove
To be
Light
And smoke

Fame
Is a fickle fire
That fumes
At the sheerest whisper
Of applause
And flutters,
Snuffs out
At the mere suspicion
Of fault

Can we strive
For health,
Without being broken by it?
Letting foundation
Camouflage our pores
Until we disappear
Under the weight of beauty.
Can we look
To better ourselves
Without being bested
By perfection?
I yearn for truth
In pursuit of wellness
Without the guilt
Of validation
Haunting us into iniquity

Citrus sweet
And onion sharp,
Scents collected
In a cafe’s heart.
I wait alone
Looking for comfort
And sense camaraderie
At the cafe’s counter.
I say hello
And grab a treat
Realizing
How tender it is
To offer something to eat
When a heart is lonely
And emotions sore,
Looking for love
In food,
Whimsical
As a musician’s score

I am done
With captivity.
I am here to set you free.
No ammunition,
No inhibition
Just two hands,
A heart,
And steady legs
Weathered by the sea

It is a terror
To accept a love
So effortless
I fall
And the weight of this dream
Collapses into me,
Encompassing my passion
With possibilities
Never once discovered
Before

What a shame
It is
To be beautiful
But bold;
Making you
Exquisite art
Too unique
And foreign
To understand,
And discarded
Instead

Do not settle
For a storage bin
When you deserve
An exhibit
In the National gallery

Laughter lilting,
Smiles ascending,
Warm breeze rushes by;
Yellow winged monarchs
In July

In every hello,
Every coffee date,
Every awkward new hug
Or handshake,
I search
For your autumnal smile,
Your thick accent,
A familiar embrace—

And then the haunting  
Fear
Rushes in;
I remember
Exactly
Why you’re a ghost
And not a lover.

I close my eyes
And yearn to forget you,
Let your spectre
Burn
To ash

How sensuous and seductive is the unique confidence of a woman. The way she nurtures her appearance as well as her career, education, and every living thing around her. Her dedicated intellect that balances a drive towards production as well as love and affection. It is in a woman’s heart that grace is found, boundless supplies for those who have wronged her, but also those who she will teach about the love she found in herself. She is a beacon to a society lost in the fray.

Bring me
Your serenity.
Shower me
With warmth.
Soothe me
With calligraphy,
And I will cover you
With grace.

The warmth
Filling me
When you stand close,
Could ignite a thousand suns;
Delivers daydreams
Into daylight.

How can one
Be so bright
That sunlight
Dims;

Solar revolution
around love
At first sight

You bring out
My adolescence,
My childlike wonder
At what Love could be,
And then I look at you
And see,
It is all now
Finally,
After years of yearning,
A beautiful,
And almost unbelievable
Reality

When I open
For you
Like a flower,
And you pick my petals—
Strewn across the earth
In haste,
I wilt
And perish;
You will not
See me bloom
Again

I will not allow you
To come in and out of me
At a whim.
I am a monument
To be revered,
Not a day trip
To a luxurious destination
You cannot afford

No sacred book,
Or talisman,
No prayer,
Or synagogue
Or mosque,
Can ever change this truth,
Ancient and antiquated:
When two are in love,
No matter the gender,
Culture,
Or identity,
The earth moves in wonder;
The mountains bow down in awe.

His eyes
Held truth with no logic,
Piercing authenticity
That whipped my spirit
Into whirlwinds.
How could one
Be so bold,
How could he
Know my mysteries?
I will spend my life
Unraveling the secrets
Of his vulnerable heart.

I,
A rising moon,
Cascade luminescence
That some call beauty.
But I know
The mark of my splendor
Can only come
From your sun.

There are worlds
Within you.
Uncharted continents
To explore.
What
An untamed adventure
It is
To be yours.

Weeping willows daughter,
Why do you cry?
What do you mourn
That has fallen
To the soil
And withered?

It is
The immigrants fear
As their child is ripped
From their womb

It is
The child’s blank stare
When they are refused
Education
And forced to be
A wife

Destitution,
Desolation,
Desecration.

These are the tears
Mother Earth cries
For her children.

This is why my grief
Grows

I pour into
Those that
Do not know how
To pour into themselves,
And I am left—
A vessel for cleansing,
A vase
Of wilting flowers
Who waters herself
And blooms

My breath catches
In trepidation,
Tightness forming
In my chest
Does anxiety buckle
For fear
Or because
I’ve never felt love
So sincere

On the last day of love
I filled my bath
With warm waves,
Sprinkled rose petals
And salt,
And soaked my lonely heart
Until it blistered,
Softened,
Lamenting
A song
Of resilience

Snowfall
Whispers
In mountains high,
Promise renewing
In a healing sky.
How often we seek
Solace
In Forest deep;
We feel akin
To a world
That cannot help
But weep

Tell me of your history,
Let me see your past.
Enlighten me
And ignite me;
There is no hidden fault
That will sway my love.
For all you are,
All I adore,
Is here in front of me.
Your journey
Was simply a path
To your perfection.

Ladies,
Never settle.
Anyone
Who does not understand
The simplicity
Of your character,
Does not deserve
The complexity
Of your beauty.

Your burden
Is not too much to bear.
Give your heavy,
Show your dark,
And I’ll etch a path
To the light

You
Look at me
Palm on my cheek,
Warmth reverberating
Throughout the room,
And
All I see
Is bliss

If there was more of you
I could touch
If there was somehow
A galaxy of sensation,
I would soothe you
Until the entire world
Turned still and quiet
And all we knew
Was us

That scent—
The one of pine
And tin,
A musk of woods
In twilight,
Is yours,
And yours alone.
Come closer,
Envelop me
In your essence.

A mind can be
So open,
Ingenuity is shaded by grey,
Hollowing a heart,
Giving way to decay,
Mistaken as discovery.