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Sasha Ranganath Jul 2014
Life is glorious
With a taste of gore,
But it seems
That glory has no value
And gore shall prevail
Forevermore.

Hand in hand
Go glory and gore,
For, rainbows are not found
Without a sunny downpour.

Magnifying trouble
Doubling the rubble,
A flaw engraved-
Incorrigible.

Harder and hardest
We name them apart,
But truth lies in neither
For, it's only hard.

Choking and bleeding
To death and beyond,
Send us to our eternal home,
To the grave we belong.

We need not love
To live a life
Without burns
Within the soul.

We need not heartache
To maximise gore,
But only the need
For sympathy and pity.

Although some of us
Need not any pity,
Only a helping hand
To change the future.

Past is past
Untouchable,
We have no time turner
To change what's over.

But gore maximisation
Is what is shameful,
Exaggerating
Pretentious nightmares.

Stories of blood
Stories of tears,
They may be true
But only what
It means to you.

Keep the rubble
They way it is,
Don't falsely increase
The heavy burden.

Yes we cry,
But not die.
Death comes once
And takes us away,
Completely disconnected
And entirely stray.

We sink to the bottom
But we don't drown,
Breathless and shivering
But still alive.

Going over these lines
I only see
A blank page
Staring back at me.

Oh you hypocrite
Don't tell these lies,
You know you double
The rubble and the cries.


I despise this poem
But still, I write
For, I need to be loyal
To the growing demons.

Paradoxes contaminate
Words of wisdom,
Scattering constellations
Back into stars alone.

I question myself
What is it I want,
I realise that the answer
Only lies in a web;
The web of life.

Live life to the fullest,
Don't live in a dream world,
This is reality
There is gravity.

But, to hell with life
That's what I say,
Live your dream
Make it your way.


Be considerate
To what others want,
But never bow down
To unreasonable taunt.

Look at good
Look at evil,
Choose your path
Let it prove
Not fatal.

A cursed hamartia
Ruins many a life,
A flaw so fatal
A remorseful light.


Ending this vague haze,
Of many a peculiar phrase,
I cannot comprehend myself,
For, I am caught
In the inevitable daze.
Sasha Ranganath Nov 2014
Do you just ever want to get high?
Do you just ever want not to try?
Do you just ever want to feel alive?
But also recover without a cry?

Do you just ever not want to hear an alarm?
Do you just ever want to be noise amidst calm?
Do you just ever feel no harm?
But also know you still feel your arm?

You know that sense when you're feeling mellow?
You know that deepness when you're in the shallow?
You know that whisper that's in a bellow?
That's when you know you're not just an echo.
Sasha Ranganath Oct 2015
you etched your name
down to my bones.
and now my limbs
are falling off.
it doesn't hurt though.
i just wish i could hold you.
but i'm just meat
wearing bloodstained clothes.
Sasha Ranganath Feb 2017
i love you so much
today
tomorrow
and the uncertain next second.
through our anxiety and my tendencies
through your nausea and guilt.

my love,
i will love you today
i will love you tomorrow
but what if there's no tomorrow.
what if i turn to ash
what if i'm six feet below the ground
will you know?
will you realise?
4483 miles away?
will your hands reach my burning body?
will your lips touch my lips that are fading?
will your tears stain my face that now serves as a garden for new life?
will i feel your knees making a burrow in the ground
as you crouch over and tell me all the things you never could?

tell me will you promise me not to make it rain too much?
give me your word, you'll find another someone to love
say you'll get off the mud and make your way back home
because i have the privilege today
of easing you out of your misery, even by just a budge
but tomorrow you may be the one
trying to open my eyes, giving me a nudge
wake up
don't go just yet
we never got to dawn or dusk.

my love,
we never got to dawn or dusk
but you will
you will, right?
let go before you hit the bone
let go before you can't feel a thing anymore
let go
remember me
but let go.

for the last time,
i'm sleepy
goodnight
i love you.
for my love all the way in sweden
Sasha Ranganath Oct 2014
I swear to God
If you don't sleep,
You'll keep being sick
And never break free.
Sasha Ranganath Oct 2015
you thought drunken hickeys
were for losers.
so you gave me sober bruises
now are we lovers?
Sasha Ranganath Jun 2014
She cried herself
To sleep at night,
Trying so hard
To find the light.

Her sister went to parties
Rarely feeling lonely,
Leaving a hurting Isabelle
Quietly hiding in her shell.

A fire raged within her
But afraid of going unheard,
She kept away,
Ran far away.

Her daddy went to strip clubs
And always came home drunk,
Her skin bore bruises
Only thorns, no roses.

Her mama went to church
For, she was also hurt;
The man she loved
Beat her up.

Her friends were all so pretty
They caught everyone's eye;
But she was so lonely
Caught in a web of lies.

The ones who said
They loved her,
Only built her walls
Up higher.

She felt betrayed,
Unwanted waste;
Tears in her eyes,
She was asking "Why?"

I found a crouching Isabelle,
She was going through hell.
I picked her up
And gave her hope.

Now she's strong,
She was wrong;
She's not worthless
She's not a mess.

Somewhere in there,
In love I fell;
Now she is my Isabelle.
I need to find my isabelle :')
Sasha Ranganath Jun 2014
Sprinkled in the sky
Like sugar on the pie,
They twinkle right at me
What a sight to see.
In awe and enchantment
I stand amidst the stars
I am now part of the insanity.
A rush of amusement
A sudden indulgence
Upon me it heaves.
Shooting through the galaxies,
A time warp, so it seems.
No time to weep
Like the darker days
I feel upon me a golden ray.
A touch divine
I've crossed the line.
Turbulence ensues
What is this I'm going through?
A world of surprise
Seen through my eyes
Amazement within.
I've caught a glimpse
That will recur,
The land I call *Isther.
Isther is a name derived from an enchanting land- Idris from The Mortal Instruments and Esther- a young girl who tragically succumbed to cancer and also the inspiration behind The Fault In Our Stars by John Green.
Sasha Ranganath Oct 2014
Swooning in love
It started out,
Or at least I think.
But was it just betrayed trust?

Fall outs and patch ups,
Confusion and bliss;
A wonderland in my head
That's all it was.

You built me up
And broke me down,
Didn't care
Didn't hurt.

The final time you broke me down,
I built myself from ruins;
Didn't stumble
Didn't drown.

Since you broke me down,
Can you see
How far I've come?
I've retrieved my crown.

One day I'll be there
To thank you for it,
One sharp glance
And you'll be hit.

I won't break you down,
Just my creation.
I won't steal your crown,
Just your humiliation.
Sasha Ranganath Oct 2015
you bled over my eyes,
blinding me with red.
i mistook it for love
now im alone in this bed.
Sasha Ranganath Aug 2014
Poems are but a
Mixture of words all jumbled
To create pure art.
Sasha Ranganath Aug 2014
A song about
A fierce dancer
Moving to forget
A lost lover.

She glides swiftly
But strongly to the wind
She dances to every drop
And so she sings.

Ridding herself
Of sweet torture
Presenting herself
With her dernière danse.
Sasha Ranganath Jun 2014
Ghosts of her past
Haunting her.
Day and night
She lives in fear.
Fearing the return of the demons
For, they are the ones
Who know her weakness.
In distress she screams
But in vain,
No one to listen
No one to care.
Hanging by a fragile thread
On the verge of getting lost
Inside her very head.
Nights she spends
Immersed in tears,
Painful screams
Only she can hear.
"Stop!" she yells
Inside herself,
They pause for a moment
But start again.
She longs to be free,
She's drenched in the rain.
Cries of agony
No loss of pain.
Sasha Ranganath Aug 2014
Where are the pure souls?
Forgotten miserably,
Ashes washed away.
Sasha Ranganath Jul 2014
I want to love someone
Love someone so deeply,
I can draw their eyes
Plainly from memory.

I want to love someone
Love someone with so much heart,
I can hear their heartbeat
And create a piece of art.

I want to love someone
And gaze at the starry sky,
The rippled moonlit water
No room for another lie.

But I desire not
To love someone alone,
True love is not one-sided
No one ascends the throne.

I need not a perfect soul
I need someone with inner beauty,
I need not a rotten soul
Just one who loves me truly.
Sasha Ranganath Oct 2014
Hold your breath
Count to ten,
Don't let go
Keep it in.

Lift a brick
Dig a hole,
Jump inside
Keep holding on.

Shut your eyes
And don't breathe,
Stay in there
Don't be free.

Now climb out,
Run a mile.
Swim a lap
Don't breathe, but smile.

Greet some people,
Hug a few
But even then
Don't you dare spew.

Do you feel at ease?
Is it a wonderful feel?
That's the strength I have
To walk past you like a breeze.
Sasha Ranganath Jan 2015
what i like about the living
is that they respond to
hello and goodbye.

what i don't always understand about them
is how and why.
Sasha Ranganath Nov 2014
Each day she begins by hoping not to be stabbed again. The worry gets worse as time rips past her. She hopes not to feel the air between him and her. But everyday, hoping deems no good. Everyday she feels the wind piercing through her skin and chilling her bones. Everyday she digs her red nails into her palms to calm the sweat. Everyday she falls to her knees, but invisible to the human eye. She feels the shaking of her joints. She feels every blood cell rushing through her. She hears her heart beat with a deadened sound. Her head gets heavy and her eyes close with a whimper. She's reached the blackness of the sea. She's caught in the tsunami. She wishes for the hurt to stop but then again she enjoys the pain.

He will be gone soon.  She thinks that the hurt will disappear too, but little does she know that absence makes the heart grow fonder.

He was once her entire universe with all the fireballs in between, but now he IS the fireball. She crumbles under the heat and pain. She's almost in ruins. She's going away to a new universe in a while. She hopes to find peace there.

She hopes to stop hurting, but will a ******* ever be free of pain?
Sasha Ranganath Jul 2016
i want to
just lay without saying a word
no noise, no disturbances
just you, me and our thoughts running wild.
i want us to lay inside and
be each other's safe place
when the world is drowning.
you talk so greatly of things trivial to me
you don't stop to listen to what my mind speaks
im not complaining; i love your voice and articulation
but it would be nice if you gave me a chance to at least whisper.
true, im not the most interesting person
and i have obscure thought processes
and it's boring to be verbal about it
but i just get lost when you ramble on and on
and i can't fit the pieces together a lot of the time.
i'm sure you don't realize that i feel this way
and i'm far too apprehensive to tell you.
my head is a battleground between feeling unwanted
and reassuring myself that i'm just delusional.
i like to think i'm important to you
but i being my insecure self, almost never believe it.
i sound like such a sad sack
and i won't deny that i need constant reassurance
but rather than the world consoling me all the time,
it would be nice if only you, just you,
gave me the time and opportunity
to talk for once.
i adore you. and i know you don't feel the same way about me; i can't even persuade you.
but just let me tell you about myself sometimes, maybe you'll feel differently.
maybe.
sorry.
myg
Sasha Ranganath Mar 2019
myg
when you open your eyes
i see vast space
where your thoughts flail
like leaves on a windy day
when you begin to speak
i hear and old soul
with a lingering passion
to go on, move on, what next
your words burn me
like a cigarette on raw skin
they pierce through me
like a thousand icebergs all at once
and when you try letting go
and becoming someone else
i beg for you to return
and wrap me once again
with poetry and prose
cuss words and all
you are all the oceans
and galaxies
the whole universe
and what's beyond it
baby you
could be the hope for all posterity
Sasha Ranganath Oct 2015
you called me a flower
and i thought you were a liar.
but now i'm bleeding
from the pores.
the truth is what you told.
Sasha Ranganath Oct 2014
Cold and nasty winter. Never ending. I cried and cried and cried. The world swirled around me like a malfunctioning round-about. I wanted to bury myself under the snow, and maybe just freeze forever. Or maybe just freeze time so that I could correct everything. So that I could make everything right.

I kept escaping into trances- black and white. No reds or blues or greens or yellows. Not one speck of joy to be seen. I drifted and drifted and lost contact with the real world, and just let go. It was so intense, pain and anger and frustration, and pouring into this goblet of madness from my blind eyes, too used to monotony, trying to look for a wormhole into a different galaxy. I cried tears of silver and cold. Cold they were, like the air around me. Alone, I was; body and head not matching pace. Everything swung around, floating dots of faint colour, dying hope, raging flames, nails across a chalkboard- making me cringe with discomfort and yell. What were these nonsensical mind games? Plucking out my brain bit by bit and making pickle out of the pieces. Yanking my strings, forcing them to snap and a constant shriek within my head.

And suddenly my soul collapsed. I was dead.
Sasha Ranganath Sep 2014
So, I haven't posted a poem in a while and that's because
a) I had my term exams
and
b) I am publishing an anthology, consisting of 28 of my poems, so basically I've had to work on the publishing and things, so I've been a bit busy, but I'm going to post ASAP!
Sasha Ranganath Dec 2018
a handful of air separates us,
and i'm trying to bottoms up the nerves.
there's no prelude, no warning -
i'm just a sober drunk.

it's been two thousand days since i felt this way,
and i don't know what to do,
because i always **** it up.
do i force it to go away?
or do i let it stay
a while?

what can i say that'll wash my anxieties away?
maybe you'll say something, but can i wait?
can i wait until the waves are up to my head?
can i bear the weight of uncertainty?
can i withstand handful after handful of air
until there's only a pinch of it left?
can my eyes stay open every time you glow so bright?
can i keep my lips from trembling every time you're near?
can i stop my mind from going hazy?
and can i judge the intensity of things are they too fast are they too slow too much too less too much talking too much rambling too much waiting too much hoping too much too much too much.

maybe i can't.
and maybe you can't either
wrote something i really felt, after nearly a whole year.
Sasha Ranganath Jun 2014
I find peace
I find solace
I find comfort
In the arms
Of a cold, icy night.
My face unfolding the crease
That it wears all day long
But cringing underneath
At the thought of sticks and stones
Ringing like a disturbing song.
I find love
In the whispers of the wind.
I find desire
In the darkness of the sky.
The eerie silence
It brings me hope.
I day dream
In the darkest hours
Right before dawn,
Because I know not
What deep sleep means anymore.
I see colours
I see red I see blue
I see black I see truth.
When the moon comes out
And stars, they flicker
Being surrounded by fallen angels
Sending out dreamy gazes
Giving me more might
Than the brightest summer day will ever.
Within myself I shout
I let out my unrest inside, alone.
I don't just love the night,
I connect with it.
I have no inhibitions
The night makes life worth living.
Sasha Ranganath Feb 2015
I love her so ardently
I take pride in holding her hand
And taking her in a tender embrace,
Feeling the warmth of her strong, fragile body
Full of broken pieces and bandaged scars,
An emptiness that fills my heart with compassion
And rids it of guilt because I know
She isn't going anywhere and neither am I.

Even after death tries to do us apart,
We will be buried side by side or
Have our ashes scattered in close proximity because,
Oh lord, I cannot dream of ever being apart,
Alive or lifeless.

She resides in a special garden
With shattered walls;
She smiles through the cracks
And giggles with her little mouth,
Tossing her hair perfectly as she does,
Making me fall harder and deeper
For her, with her...

Never will I let a tear of sorrow trickle down her face,
Never will I let her try to end this life full of strength.
I will forever be there when she calls,
And when she doesn't,
Just to communicate in silence
Letting the rhythm of our simultaneous hearts do the talking.

If we are war criminals, so be it,
For we shall wear our battle scars with pride,
Allowing no one to diminish what we have-
This reaction called L-O-V-E.

I shall live to make her smile,
And die holding her hands, yet smiling.
I will search for the queen of my dreams
For however long.*
*And I will love her ever so deeply,
The deepest love she will ever know.
Sasha Ranganath Jun 2014
I don't like love songs
Or any of the sort.
But when I look at you
I know that this is true.
Dark and icy nights
Were my only friends.
Now all I see is light
Yet I don't know
How this ends.
Spending days alone
Was a common sight,
With you I feel not forlorn
But like all is right.
Forgotten by everyone
I care not
Since you're the one.
The one to take me home,
*Beyond the stars
And dream once more.
Sasha Ranganath Oct 2015
you ran your tender nails
over all my scars.
but then i looked down
and there was
blood
**e v e r y w h e r e
Sasha Ranganath Apr 2020
you are electric blue,
charged up,
wreaking havoc like there's no tomorrow.

you are fiery red,
up in flames,
resisting change,
can't keep a straight face.

you are blood orange,
smiling through the pain,
a cheshire cat stare.

and you are sunset yellow,
soft and kind - the warm embrace of a lover.

you are a stroke of violet,
taking life as it comes,
slow, unwavering.

you are the pink of cheeks that blush,
a slow dance in the kitchen at midnight.

you are starry night black,
flawed and beautiful and eternal.

you are green swiveled into white,
serene, calm, still.

you are the full spectrum.

so do your dance and paint every empty canvas with your palette a different pattern every time -
this is why you are alive.
national poetry writing month day 2: personified colours
Sasha Ranganath Oct 2014
Round-abouts of confusion
A ship of misconception.

Free falling into fire,
But only getting higher.

Together but alone,
Still holding onto hope.

Slowly the fire dies,
Waves begin to arise.

And suddenly something breaks,
Even though he still cared.

It's the sound of a shattering heart,
Faults on both parts.

Constellations breaking,
Connections tearing.

Last night she loved him,
Well into the foggy morning.

Tonight she just cries,
Asking herself why?

She wonders if he's doing the same,
How long must she pray?

Know that she cares,
Know that she dares.

She sees his girl,
But does he see she's hurt?

But perhaps it's okay,
She needs to drift away.
for one of my closest friends <3
Sasha Ranganath Oct 2015
it's not love
i don't even like you
it's just
sometimes
i want to hold you
and never let go.
Sasha Ranganath Jun 2014
No!* They screamed
As they saw them plummet.
A tale to tell.
Us on the summit
She told her that day.
As they watched the trees sway,
Hand in hand they fell in love
Together they faced the push and shove.
Day and night they fought the fight
There was no hope of seeing light.
Society tried hard to rip them apart,
But they wouldn't let go of each other's hearts
Because they used to beat together
Resounding within them the love they had
Echoing in their heads the words people said
Freaks  Disgrace  Outlaws
As they held hands and looked
At each other's tear-streaked face,
Standing up on the bridge,
Those people with dropped jaws
I love you* they said together
And vanished into the water
A few bubbles here and there
Those people just stare
A few walk away
A few wonder why
Why did they leave us?
They ask without emotion
They couldn't stop this vicious cycle
Because they knew the question
But chose to push away the solution.
The answer lay in front of their ignorant eyes
They watched blankly as they witnessed the sky turn grey
And grey to black
*Oh how we long for them to come back.
I support gay/lesbian rights. #Equal
Sasha Ranganath Aug 2014
Ghosts of my past
Come back to me
So ruthlessly,
Taking over me.

They come to me
Without summoning
The demons possess,
Without conjuring.

Yet I feel so serene,
Yet security binds me,
I’m ecstatic
Although blind.

Beautiful are the stars
But peaceful is the past,
Every haunting memory
Swirling, flying around me.

I think of every minute
I think of every second,
The days I spent crying
And bleeding to near-death.

Those days are behind me now
The days I jammed my fingernails,
The moments I ripped open my skin,
The seconds I let my tears burn my skin.

I’m grateful for my ghosts,
I’m thankful for my demons,
They keep my sane
They rid me of despair.
Sasha Ranganath Jun 2014
A stranger she was
Was it fate or
Was it destiny
That made us meet?
Although never face to face
I see in her amazing grace.
Swiftly she moves
To the rhythm of life.
People trying to bring her down
But she won't bow
To the undeserving.
She is strong
She is beautiful.

Ready to fight the world,
In she will come
Like a whirl.
Assurance is what she needs
And assurance I will give.
"Love, don't be sorry"
Said I to her,
And poured my heart out
Through these words.
I hope she realizes
The strength within,
The power to face the world
And not beat herself up.
Cruelty never dies
It's omnipresent.
But she can conquer the galaxies
If she wants.
I believe in her with all my heart,
Nothing comes above
I will forever be with her
*She is my love
She is my soul sister.
Dedicated to a dear friend and beautiful young girl. <3
Sasha Ranganath Jan 2015
Life is like a caterpillar's metamorphosis into a butterfly.

As the caterpillar weaves it's cocoon, it just knows it's a part of its life to do so. No questions asked.

As we build our walls up with time, we just know it's a part of our lives to do so. No questions asked.

The caterpillar stays in for many, many days, not knowing what awaits it when it finally breaks free.

We stay behind the walls for a long, long time, not knowing what awaits us when we finally tear them down.

The caterpillar patiently waits for it's time to come. And when it does, it realises what freedom it has attained after all the time it spent in the darkness.

We wait for a long time, but sometimes we feel like we can't wait any longer and just want to end the darkness. We feel claustrophobic in there.

When claustrophobia hits, don't be afraid to let out a tiny little cry, just loud enough for someone passing by to hear. Use all your strength that's been piling up inside you. Someone that truly cares about the little details, is going to have a second look and find the place that the sound is coming from. They won't tear down your walls, instead they'll find a little escape hole and crawl in to help you tear them down yourself.

But sometimes it so happens, that the caterpillar just doesn't emerge and the cocoon is still as ever. No matter for how long you wait, it just doesn't break through.

If you see that happening, just make it a point to let every other caterpillar you know, that it's okay to let out a little cry when suffocation approaches. Tell them they don't have to be afraid.

Tell them you'll always find a way to help them tear down their walls<3
Sasha Ranganath Aug 2014
Everything looks better with the rain,
Even pain feels better with it.
Everything sounds better with the rain,
Even cries sound better with it.

If you stand under
A pouring cloud,
And let tears stream
Down your face,
Only you can feel
And only you know
That you're in pain.

If you scream in the open
Between howls of the wind
Amidst a hurricane,
Only you can feel
And only you know
Your lungs going breathless
And that you're in pain.

But the pain doesn't stop
Neither does the rain,
You continue to feel broken
You're still feeling faint.

So how does the rain
Make everything seem better?
How does it
Ease the pain?

It eases hurt
And discomfort.
Not for you,
But the others.
Sasha Ranganath Jan 2015
I shouted out a prayer for you,
A prayer for your eyes to stay damp
But for your tears never to trickle.

I sent out a cry for you,
A cry for your heart to stay fixed
And never to break.

I tried wishing upon a star for you,
A star to illuminate your path
And guide you to your destiny.

I wrote down a song for you,
A song for your imperfect perfections
But for my voice never to sing it.

The prayer,
The cry,
The wish,
The song...
Hit the sky
And fell back down.

Now you'll have to stay here and say grace,
Yet never again in my embrace.
Sasha Ranganath Jun 2014
I'm falling down
I can't catch my crown,
Help me please
I don't want to give up.

I'm crawling on the floor
Don't close the door,
Hold my hand
And help me stand.

Life is cruel
I was just a tool,
Used and abused
I was such a fool.

Do you see me?
Or am I invisible?
I'm crying out for you
Lift me up,
Clear the view.
I'm losing control
Show me the light,
Help me win
My inner fight.

I'm reaching out to you
I'm losing all the trust now
Keep my faith alive
And become my guiding light.

People are always leaving
But to you I'm pleading,
I don't want to be alone
Take me home.
Sasha Ranganath Aug 2014
During his childhood
He found beauty in the sand
Now he rests beneath.
Sasha Ranganath Sep 2016
sitting down drawing circles on sand
by the ocean for 16 years without disturbances,
save a few hefty feet trampling down sand castles
but then one day something happened
and an overwhelming wave comes hurling itself at you,
and you have no escape plan despite living on the sand all your life
the wave comes bearing galaxies from atlantis,
blinding starlight, and a myriad perfect seashells.
it feels like an eternity,
being consumed by the wave as you're given
a tour of every attraction there is,
receiving free samples every now and then.
you succumb to the star dust,
enthralling you like a child at disneyland,
or tumblr teens on the fourth of july.
it feels like you're the only one lucky enough
to witness this spectacle, and you're marvelling
marvelling
marvelling
marvelling
marvel-
.
.
.
.
.
no air
you're gasping
muddy
sand in your eyes
and through the excruciating discomfort,
you see a hundred other silhouettes looking back at you.
---;
this is how it was, loving him briefly.
and this will stare him in the face,
but perhaps his eyes, too, full of sand
will stare right back at me
“silhouettes” he'll say
“silhouettes are what make my day”
Sasha Ranganath Jul 2014
Physics
Velocity, acceleration and time
The speed, the distance
Travelled by a body,
Inanimate and lifeless.
A body that has to be controlled
A body that has to be in control.

Chemistry
Reactions, balancing and valency
Reaction between chemicals
Again in need
Of external control
In need to be in control.

Biology
Internal systems, senses and movement
The only subject
About life
The only subject
About being alive.

Yet, she feels
She is the physics
And the chemistry
She's lost self control,
She's no more herself,
Without the biology.

Although she's
Living,
She's still dead.
Although she's
Breathing,
She's still breathless.
Although she's
Walking,
She's still falling.

And although
She speaks through her mouth,
Thinks from her brain,
And bleeds from her vessels,
It isn't her behind
The words.
It isn't her behind
The thoughts.
It isn't her behind
The liquid.

If not herself,
Who is it?
If not her own mind,
Whose is it?

Have you heard of demons?
Not the ones
With horns and a tail.
Not the ones
With red skin.
Not the ones
Told in stories.

But the monsters
She feared as a child,
The monsters who lived
Under her bed.

The real monsters,
They dwell in her,
Feeding off her happiness
And drinking up
Her memories.

Scarring memories
Are the only ones they spare,
Leaving unhealed wounds
And taking sadistic pleasure.

She is controlled
By them,
She lost herself
She was forced to surrender,
She was forced to forget.

She had no choice
But to fall
And to stop living
For herself.

She is controlled
But not in control.
She is surviving
But not on her own.
She is alive
But in the grave,
Buried with flowers
And dirt to cover up.

How can everyone
Be so oblivious
To the dead girl
Amongst the living?
Sasha Ranganath Feb 2017
​when you wish an earthquake would pave way for rubble to make you a cradle until the gravestone can be placed,

when you wish an airplane would crash into your window and pin your heart and heaviness away,

when youre breathing to hang on to life, yet want to give it away

when you can hear your lungs fill and deflate, making you feel like youre going to cave in

when you feel the noise around you is slowly going to pluck every braincell out of your head and not let them regenerate

when the music next to your bed is the only thing keeping you sane when footsteps make your heart race when clawing at your legs keeps the screams at bay when making another mark of metal seems too far away

when youre just yelling for the sun to go away because the sun makes people stay awake with noise grenades flying here and there it’s chaotic and a vortex of despair

am i being selfish

because noise grenades are borne by people trying to live another day while im here in my bed under blankets  

cursing them away
Sasha Ranganath Jun 2014
The colour of serenity
The colour of calm beauty
Gurgling of a stream
Amidst land of green
Flowers blooming gracefully
Swaying away aimlessly
The winged little fairies
Buzzing as they forage
Telling their own stories
Causing a pleasant havoc.
But despite all the peace,
She's left with unease.
A peculiar unrest
To decipher it
She tries her best.
Again and again
A recurring nag
Within herself she starts to lag.
Her eyes are dry
All out of tears,
She's at the brim.
The brim of going mad
The brim of insanity.
Her demons relishing,
Parts of her missing.
What's left of her heart mourns,
As her soul has died.
She is herself no more,
But a hollow, numb body
With no place to hide.
She has no memory
Of how she used to be
So happy, so carefree
With not a worry.
With a flood of emotions,
Her neck is choked
With a lifeless rope.
She's turning blue
That's what she called
*The serenity hue.
Sasha Ranganath Apr 2019
with you i learnt that home is not just made of rooms and four walls // that family does not begin and end with whose blood i share or where i come from // that comfort is not found in just the pillows i rest my head on // that the skies turn pink and shades of blue somewhere in the world everytime i think of you // that even though the tides ebb and flow, high and low, my love never wavers // that when the clouds start to cry, it's because i miss you i miss you i miss you // that when flowers bloom tomorrow, you're telling me you miss me too // that even if the earth breaks open and we all die, through our last breaths we'll smile, we'll just smile / and we'll know that although our bodies fall apart, the stardust in our souls will always know their paths / so that someday when the universe is reborn, my dear, we'll find our way back to each other // love.

- sasha r.
Sasha Ranganath Aug 2014
Chains rattle through the witching hour
And a tense grapnel around her lungs
Forcing an overwrought gasp,
Beads of sweat moistening her soft skin
Glistening under the moonlight
That comes in through fragmented glass
And the shards of transparency surround her cradling bed.

Her sweat shines
But not the broken glass,
Seemingly invisible, it lures her into a trap.
She steps her bare feet down, touching the shrapnel.
She shrieks in consternation,
Feels blood touching her cutis
And a solitary tear runs along her left cheek.

She careens her way back on to the mattress
And her sanguine feet tag along,
Staining the cloth freshly laid out
Patterned with flowers and autumn leaves.
Afraid to wound herself once more,
She quietly sobs herself to sleep
And sheds the last tear.

Sirens blare and the sun shines ever so bright,
A hundred people surround the scene
Letting their eyes go wild like the rain
And heaving in long breaths.
With pierced flesh and a lifeless smile,
She went out like a light as she wept her last,
And now she's the lurking shadow of the morgue.
Sasha Ranganath Oct 2014
In the spark of a lighter on a cigarette
In the sparkle of a twilight star
In the shine of an eye in a veteran portrait
In the glint of sun through a drizzle war.

In the shimmer of dust in the early sunlight
In the gleaming midnight moon
In the shining tears of happy eyes
In the glittering outline of a paper cartoon.

In all these simple sights it lies-
The buried, hidden treasure.
A feast for all the demonic eyes-
The epitome of pleasure.
Sasha Ranganath Feb 2018
I have never had a valentine.
Yes, I had that one guy, that one time
But to him, it was just a
A valenti---- don't really love you kinda love.
A valenti---- wish it wasn't you kinda love.
And to me, it was a
Valenti---- really don't think I'm straight kinda love.
Valenti---- am SO uncomfortable, get me outta here kinda love.

I have never had a valentine,
Yes, I had that one girl, that one time,
But we were miles away from each other.
4,483 to be exact.
With her I felt great
For a while
Like a candle
At the end of its life
You can see the waltzing flame meet the quiet of night
Midnight
Should I stay up kinda night
Skype call kinda night
I love you but... I gotta go... kinda night.

I have never had a Valentine
And it's not because he didn't care enough
Or she wasn't close enough.
I've never had a Valentine because I'm either too much or just not enough
I'm insecure, so insecure of the way I talk, the way I walk, the way these two strands of hair stick out, the way this one tooth just doesn't stay in line, the child inside me made entirely of antidepressants and fries, the truths, the lies, the incessant goodbyes.
I've never had a Valentine and I'm lonely
As hell
I'm so lonely I'll fall in love before you blink,
I'll pick you up when you're standing still,
I'll spin you around like I finally made up my mind to do the laundry
I'll kiss you good morning and I'll kiss you goodnight
Tonight
Tomorrow
Maybe forever.
You see this
is my problem.
This passion
This raging forest fire of emotions
This racing broken heart of haunted suspicions.
You aren't perfection
You're my perfection.
In my dictionary, your name is scrawled into the definition of every positive adjective, every beautiful noun, everything that's not a frown.

You see when I imagine my valentine, I see stars in the sky
As cliché as that sounds, I see stars in the sky and her nose perfectly aligning with the moonlight,
Her eyes slightly unsure whether to meet mine
Her lips lightly quivering with her gaze falling on mine
Her fingers slowly inching up to the tips of mine
Her smile faintly turning into a garden of lullabies
The place I go to mourn my goodbyes and watch the sun rise.
When I think of my Valentine,
I hear her laugh turning into a snort, laughing even louder, her cheeks turning red, tears in her eyes.
And I laugh along, falling in love with every crinkle by her eyes, just hoping she's not dying inside.
Just hoping she's not just pretending to love me tonight. Praying she believes we're more than just alright.

I've never had a Valentine,
But I'm hoping
I'm really ******* hoping
Somewhere in this crowd
I might have changed your mind.
Sasha Ranganath Oct 2015
and i sip you up quickly
you make me flinch
you run over my tongue
and into my throat
you taste bitter
you sting me
i gulp anyway
you're my only medicine.
Sasha Ranganath Jun 2014
By the window
Under a purple sky,
I thought I saw a shadow,
But then the lightning
Cracked across so bright.

Music in my ears
Singing about stars and death,
Maybe the rains are my tears
And thunder is the sound
Of my heart break.

Another white flash
I look at it lash,
The song now is
About a lonely heart,
I feel myself cringing,
Maybe falling apart.

An uneven poem
Piling up my emotions,
I'd really rather throw them
But I'm not yet insane.

Maybe the rain stopped,
I pause the music;
I was wrong,
The rain falls on.

If the rains are my tears,
Then the lightning
Is the brightness,
That only leads me into
Darkness.

The storm on its own-
My deepest, darkest fears;
If rain does not stop
Neither will my tears.
Sasha Ranganath Jan 2015
I don't feel a darkness creeping on to me,
I don't feel my demons.
I don't feel tears on my face,
I don't want to leave.

I don't feel numb,
I don't feel like screaming.
I don't feel like bleeding,
I don't want to succumb.

When there's no negativity in me anymore,
The paper and pen lie alone.
When I've begun seeing good colours,
There's no more of me forlorn.

I used to write five or six poems a day,
Now I write one in five or six weeks.
In the night, I don't lie awake
To craft ink and silently weep.

I wish I could pen down happiness,
The way I could with emptiness.
I've tried to do so a number of times
But that's just not me, no vibes.
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