I watch you from a distance;
the way the moon watches the sun,
waiting anxiously for the next phases turn
I trace all of our steps
the way the stars trace each other's path;
twinkling sometimes, falling other times,
wondering where our place is on this earth
We are poles apart, day and night;
Black and white, dark and light
Completely unexpected and yet somehow, we found a way to collide

~ ©️ Priya Patel 🕉

I'm outside on my swing,
without the trace of a breeze
or the slightest wind;
just the scorching heat
beating down on my face,
and yet this is my happy place
The birds are humming
and the bees are buzzing,
my eyes are squinting
yet I sit here swinging;
all the while wondering,
what you must me doing
or thinking in my absence;

so I asked ...
and in honeyed words, you replied
in a way that made my eyes smile

The swing is the place to be, you said
Life is a pendulum and we like a bee
We flutter and collect in the gardens
soaking in goodness and mollen
Then only we load our everlasting pollen
Heat will cleanse you and let sweat be your attire,
for only the sun can share your fire
Finally, the internal beauty
will reflect in your desire,
for this beautiful lady's heart
is ready for a new hire  

Oh how I smiled ...

You surprised my senses,
sipping from my words,
swirling the soft taste
of my sun-soaked innocence -
and something else, a silliness perhaps;
the kind that comes from
unexpected surprises
How did the words taste, I wonder;
enough to tease your lips into a smile,
enough to tickle your pen into writing
me into the midst of your day,
and enough for the sound of your voice
to echo like a whisper within my ears
Suddenly, the swing in the early afternoon,
beneath the glaring sunlight,
wearing nothing but sweat
and silly innocence,
has become my favorite place to be

~ Priya 🕉

Knees bent and eyes closed
I'm ready for this next load
Head up and shoulders straight
mask on, fresh tears await
I just need to stand up tall

This load is so much heavier
and my knees are getting wobblier
Everyday, like a draft on tap
a new stress pours into my lap
I'm trying to stand up tall

I'm tired, this is way to hard
I don't like my lifes card
Surely I've been dealt the wrong hand
I just want to, once again stand
But this time, I think im going to fall

~ Priya 🕉

There is surely a river
that is flowing through me;
small ripples that tickle my skin,
the way you did with your eyes
Should the river of me
touch your feet,
perhaps we both
would drown within the ripples
of laughter and desire

The water; once cold, ice cold,
burnt my skin with its touch;
Now it is warm,
scented with your sweet smile
that often washes over me
in my dreams;
kissing my eyes open
to see more than the ice cold touch
of yesterday

Perhaps that is your smile
laughing in the ripples;
trying to touch me,
kissing my eyes open
to see more than pain;
to see me bloom
like the tiny flowers that
grow wild in a lovers field

~ ©️ Priya Patel

I slept peacefully,
dreaming I was with you
closing the distance between
the clouds white
and the sky blue
floating on fluffy clouds of dreams
I awoke suddenly,
sinking deep into the blurry seams
suddenly, so very lost without you
and once again, widening the gap
between what I wanted us to be,
and what I always knew was true

~ ©️ Priya, 4/19

"Bitter truth of reality. When you hold something closely, you lose it nearly".

~ Pearce Crizyel

I tried to dip my feet in the murky water
of the lake I conciously kept passing by
I had not been there in so long;
scared of unfamiliar territories
and bringing back memories
I had tucked neatly away to be forgotten
I thought I would never get the chance
to dip my feet in again
but life can take us on so many paths;
time moving so very fast,
almost passing us by
The water was so cold,
like unfamiliar territory
that somehow I thought
I could visit again
I swirled the sand with my feet
beneath the ice cold water
and cut my toe on a shell
Just as well, I thought
Perhaps I'll try again tomorrow

~ ©️ Priya 4/21/23 🕉

So many toes have crushed
the very grains of sand
that give the ripples of you stability
Why, I wonder, do you crave my feet
with soles so incomplete
I have been trodden on
and accused of trodding upon
I am much like the broken shells
you wish was whole again
How I crave the tingling
of rushing water against my ankles
and the foaming bubbles
like pearls cradled in sunlight
dancing at my feet
How I ache to be whole again
like the brightly colored
imperfection of seashells

~ ©️ Priya 4/21/23 🕉