I lost myself between the folds of a fairy tale
Enchanted, embedded beneath a deep scale,
Seven years old ,I was a  little girl with pony tail
So excited as  a happy duck learning how to sail,
Holding my mom's hand so tightly trying not to fail ...

We went for shopping in that happy spring day
Enjoying the gentle breeze in that month of may,
So curious was me to follow a colorful butterfly
As i jumped and crossed over  the street ,
A peculiar oddness  spread in a hasty heart beat ...

Suddenly my heart felt a weird ache
Once I saw no mother's hand to take ,
I felt a mysterious melancholy stretching all over my veins
As I muttered "mom!" with jumbled voice and teary eyes ,

There was no one to hear my call but a gentle guy ,
As he  took my hand and comforted me with a cheerful smile
Calling me :"oh ! dear princess ,don't cry it's all about a crossing mile",

I drunk a bittersweet cup of water mingled with my salty tears ,
Waiting in his coffee shop for minutes which seemed like years..
Long I stood there , Deep drowning in my dark  fears

My mom's heart was earnestly sunk in her keenest frustration
For she lost her luster  of soul and  glimpse of inspiration ..
She tried her best to find this lost playful doll,
She asked  a police man who didn't care at all ,

She got over her fears and followed her heart
Which alluded her to that coffee shop standing apart;
Finding her little girl watching her favorite cartoon,
While she sent a warm hug with a shivering heart so soon ...

Our both hearts melted ardently with rapturous happiness
For we restored our souls with loving cheerful radiance ...

So grateful was mom's esteem for my savior dear gentle man
He was a my charming hero who  kept me as safe as he can ...


It was as delicate as a butterfly's wing
And as menacing as a knife in the dark ...
Still lingers in our memory immersing deepest feelings,
Thanking Allah  for the delightful rescue and healing ...

The sky isn't just a sky
And the stars aren't just stars.

A poem isn't just a poem
And a word isn't just a word.

A smile isn't just a smile
And a dream isn't just a dream.

There's more to everything;
You just have to have the ability
To see past the visible aspect.

Explain to me how someone so crowded can feel so alone.

Mind,

I did not
Give in.

Words are just tools, or things to be used
they can make sense of the world, or leave you confused.
Love's just a word, so's beauty, perfection;
they once conveyed meaning of undying affection
but they're now overused, and so seem cliche
what good are words she won't believe anyway?
But say them I shall, just to let her know
that for me love means the same as it did long ago.

I am learning to listen
to what's not said
to read between the lines
to see the invisible sights
to feel the silent heartbeat

I am learning to listen
to the moments of friendship silence
to hear you dive deep in our dialogue
and come up floundering breathless
I have to resist being your saviour
Just watch you go up and down
up and down but you do not drown

I am learning to listen
to your unspoken presence divine
in the quiet of my lonely night
when my mind is taken over
with a million unanswered questions
regrets, shame, hopes and dreams
painted on white walls of ****** frustration

I am learning to listen
in the times you do not speak
in the times you embrace me
with all of my deep uncertainty
my fear - my doubts - my pain

In the moments I think you absent
and nowhere to be seen
you sit across from me - silent
listening and not to be heard

I often neglect the greatest gift you
give to me - as my lover-friend-divine
to enjoy you as the one
who does not want to be heard
but the one who just wants to listen

Stanley Arumugam
17 April 2013