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4.9k · Aug 2014
Metamorphosis
Shruti Atri Aug 2014
You were supposed to give of yourself--
Your angel dust was dragon fire;
*The spark to her funeral pyre.
Three lines for betrayal...
4.6k · Aug 2014
The Siren's Song
Shruti Atri Aug 2014
She sings her sweet songs,
Calling all the sailors home;
*A homing beacon.
They're enchanted, unaware;
Their doom awaits them...
4.0k · Jul 2014
Wake Up
Shruti Atri Jul 2014
I found my love,
*He told me to wake up!
10 words for a nightmare...
3.8k · May 2016
Consumption
Shruti Atri May 2016
In their darkness they grew,
Like shadows,
Reaching for a deeper Hell;
In their blackness they grew,
Bound together,
As they stood by the other's side;
Destroying each other--
Bit by bit...

*Devouring each other--
Bite
by
bite...
I wrote this while thinking of Bellatrix's love for Voldemort...
Shruti Atri Jun 2014
those sounds you make
with air and your voice box,
they're all made for me.
the words...that's what you call them.

when you pen down these words for me,
you're knitting my clothes:
black thread
embroidered on white.
always the same always so different.

that's how everyone gets to know me:
with your name, (always) the right fit
like a shoe that goes with every dress

I am the soul of all your creations
that part of your soul
that resides in white
I am all that energy that has bled from you
I am your soul - your soul is in me

I dwell in the blood that sweats through your pores.
I am the thrum of havoc in your veins.
I am the reason your heart beats.
it beats to my name.
you're mine.
you will never forget me.

I am your arrogance
I am the reason butterflies flutter
I am truth, I am redemption
I am lies and smiles
and that story you ache to write...

I am alive in the human touch
that keeps you hurting healing bleeding
tumbling in pain agony hate
through the impossibilities of your humanity.
I give you strength warmth courage tolerance
to go on,
to keep on living
and to keep me alive...

I draw life
from that
weird goofy and frankly whacked out part
of your mind
that thinks
I can talk to you

like

at
this
very
moment...
I thought of some lines by Sylvia Plath & Bukowski while writing this, you might recognize their words.
PS: Please do comment, I welcome criticism as well :)
2.8k · Jan 2016
My Mask
Shruti Atri Jan 2016
There is a sleep
That beckons to me:
Takes hold of my soul.

There is an ache
That deepens the wound:
Tears open a hole in my heart.

There is a mask
That stays on my tongue;
My self
And in my eyes,
So they know I haven't fallen apart,
*Just yet...
2.8k · Jun 2014
Without You
Shruti Atri Jun 2014
It's a confusing puzzle,
But still holds true:
You can't live with me;
I can't live without you.

Life is but a journey,
I chose to go through with you;
But now that you won't have me,
It's hard for me to continue.

Fate is a bitter cruel harpy,
With her sisters she conspires
For the death of my Love,
As your Love for me transpires!

Hope is a painful therapy,
It burns while nursing Time's stabs;
But the scars strengthen Experience,
As it assists to keep Reason's tabs.

Love and Reason are antithesis,
That can't co-exist;
But their affinity is such
That to be together they persist.

Perfection in Love is when
There is room for Reason;
But when Reason and Logic court,
Love calls it Treason!

Love is unfair and immature,
And still as pure as a dove;
But there's no use of Reason,
With the death of Love.

This poem is an analogy:
Which in life stands true;
It's no use of me loving you,
If there's no hope for you to love me too.
It's astonishing that we are capable of feeling all-consumed in love, even when our feelings are unrequited or love is lost. We hope, and don't just stop at that...we try to make that singled-out subject of our love happy at every turn and crossroad. No matter that every time we get close enough, the ache of not being with them threatens to tear us apart!
Ah! The human mind and it's impossible romantics! :)
2.5k · Oct 2014
Become the Ace
Shruti Atri Oct 2014
It's easy to be good at many things,
It's sad to be known for just a few;
It's alright to try everything once,
But it's hard to be an Ace among the crew.

It does take a lot of courage
To accept the norms and later pine;
But to stand up to what you believe in--
That takes a hell of a thick spine!


People call it arrogance,
To walk away from the crowd;
But with time, the one who walked away,
Is the one who walks proud.

Free will is an illusion for many,
It's a social necessity to walk in a herd;
Society accepts you on its own conditions--
Which if not fulfilled, you remain unheard...

There's a monarchy of tradition,
That feeds a monopoly of disappointment;
It's your charity to their egos,
That secures your appointment!



Go, find where you belong,
Amidst this raging tide;
Swim through the mailstorm,
Pull at the chains that keep you tied.

Break free of those psych bonds,
Move out into the light;
Rid yourself of that ancient poison,
And proclaim your own path as right.
It takes strength of character,
And a lot of effort on your part;
To sail smooth through this life,
And still listen to your heart...
2.5k · Aug 2021
The pressure
Shruti Atri Aug 2021
It feels unbounded,
expanded beyond wrinkles,
hammered by swinging pendulums;
hardened, with time slipping by...

I feel bound
by forgotten promises,
lost and unfounded;
with tearful, tired eyes.

In the dark, I find words I can barely see,
feelings I can barely contain;
falling through the cracks,
overwhelmed with disdain...

I see no end to this depthless void...
2.3k · Jun 2014
my '11am' epiphany
Shruti Atri Jun 2014
my phone beeped
in an almost deserted train compartment.
my boss,
'where have you reached?'
I sighed and replied,
'should reach in 5'
(would reach in 20)
same old dance
to the tune of corporate slavery.

a sharp sound,
I looked up.
the sound dissolved
into a fit of giggles.

a group of kids
playing around, teasing,
their mother close by;
a hawker, selling trinkets in the train.

it looked so natural.
a working mum
looking after her kids while on the job
(doesn't work that way does it?
guess they didn't have anywhere safe
without her)

I couldn't look away.

it was such a sight...
torn, tattered clothes
dirt and mud all over
and those innocent giggles;
it didn't add up.

I was tired, aching,
infatuating about sleep;
feet bleeding in killer heels,
rushing around without purpose,
forced into an exploitative overtime job
by myself; frustrated,
trying to keep up with society.

the little family
calm, collected;
torn, tattered smiles held with grace,
facing their exploitative poverty
with innocent mischief and honest labour.

confused,
I had a thought:
that's the life they've known,
this is the life I've known.
we fit in our lives...
differently?

no...
we fit in different lives in the same way.
I struggle she struggles,
we both have good bad days.

I didn't realize I was smiling
till she smiled back.

I bought something
and got off at the next stop,
wishing she has more good days than bad
and the kids keep their giggles
a little longer than they can..
2.2k · Jul 2014
for fiction...
Shruti Atri Jul 2014
fiction: the figment of a great writer's imagination.

the words, ink on plain paper;
feeble in their existence,
tell me to be *fierce
 and compassionate.
to have something to love,
more deeply than any being is capable of;
to try...
so that there is something my soul will reside in,
which is not me,
something I can face a fight to death for...


they are not only books.
they are the silent teachings learnt by these authors,
living through hardships.
they are metaphors,
symbols of lessons to be applied in our lives.
their passion, their wounds, living inside of their words;
they speak to us readers,
in their meek mild voices;
to hope,
to have faith,
to believe in something someone beyond ourselves,
to be human in the face of impossibilities,
eve­n through difficult dark times,
to be humble in the face of success­,
to ride our dragons into oblivion,
to hunt them down and slay them like wolves,
to never­ give up...



*'Winter is coming'
'We must try not to sink beneath our anguish, but battle on.'
'Do or do not. There is no try.'
'A hero can go anywhere, challenge anyone, as long as he has the nerve.'
'You endure what is unbearable, and you bear it.'
'If you have the soul of a warrior, you are a warrior.'
'We will not just be another piece in their games.'
'Fear doesn't shut you down. It wakes you up.'
'Old things are better than new things, because they've got stories in them.'
'Not all those who wander are lost.'
'We accept the love we think we deserve.'
'Grief does not change you. It reveals you.'
'This is my family. I found it all on my own. It's little and broken, but still good. Yeah, still good.
this is what fantasy has given me:
imaginary heroes,
imaginary victims,
imaginary villains.
all with different stories,
all lessons for life and love,
in a kaleidescope of metaphors and symbols.
a hundred thousand shades of vibrant colors,
instead of white or black.
2.1k · Aug 2014
Moksha: Liberation
Shruti Atri Aug 2014
"As the same fire assumes different shapes
When it consumes objects differing in shape,
So does the one Self take the shape
Of every creature in whom he is present."
(Katha Upanishad II.2.9)

"As the rivers flowing east and west
Merge in the sea and become one with it,
Forgetting they were separate rivers,
So do all creatures lose their separateness
When they merge at last into pure Being.
There is nothing that does not come from him.
Of everything he is the inmost Self.
He is the truth; he is the Self supreme.
You are that Shvetaketu, you are that."
(Chandogya Upanishad IV.10.1-3)

I don't understand,
Why, in this land,
Where these sacred
scriptures were written,
Were so many religions born--

I don't understand,
How, in this land,
Were differences encouraged,
When the backbone of all life
Always was recognized as liberation--

The acknowledgement
Of all different religions, castes, creeds,
Really broke the deal you know...

Imagine, if all the cultures were mixed
Instead of being *separated, unconnected, segregated;

And churned into a liberal philosophy
The Philosophy of Liberation (read: Moksha)
We'd have prevented so many wars,
All fought under the cloak of differences and disparities;
We could have averted
So much bloodshed,
So many innocent screams--

And these shudders down your spine right now?
They would be the product of fiction;
Not the echoes of cruel reality...
It really is a conundrum...when did we start refusing the uniformity of the soul? Why were another's thoughts disputed, when at the core, we are all pieces of the same fabric? Why were beliefs so cruelly championed, that punishments were distributed for 'noncompliance'?
I see that the world is tolerant today...I wrote these words to fully understand my unease on something that history had me thinking...
From where I stand, I see a backward progress...and a small part of me hopes that I've got it wrong...
2.1k · May 2015
I don't wanna be a killer...
Shruti Atri May 2015
There was a voice in my head,
Someone was screaming really loud;
I heard the voice from a distance,
I could barely make anything out.

I heard a voice at a distance,
The voice was mine, and it screamed;
I was screaming ****** ******,
I had murdered who I used to be...
Shruti Atri Nov 2014
Remember the first good day we spent?
The sea washed out the sand at our feet,
The city lights twinkled like the stars above.
Only, these were the stars we could touch.
It was the first I'd seen of your carefree laugh;
I told myself then, I haven't seen it enough.
I still haven't had enough of it...

She said, 'The city lights are the stars,
They twinkle in the shrouded night.
I have been waiting for someone
To help me reach for the light.'


It's like I'm in a dream...
Were we together in our past lives?
I was holding this torch forever,
In the darkness, I could only burn bright,
For my neverending love, to seek the forgotten light;
To reunite, and spark into flames together,
Like the Sun, warming, *burning,
with it's light;
And I finally found you, through all those blackest nights.

He said, 'If this was meant to be,
I will die over & over again to be in different eras with you.
*To live forever despite living various lives,
To live in the end and die in the beginning!'
First collab with Erenn!
2.0k · Aug 2014
The Hollowness of Want...
Shruti Atri Aug 2014
You rushed in,
Charging through her barriers;
You wanted her, so you had her--

Then, you simply up and left,
*And she was wrecked...
"Some people don't understand the promises they're making when they make them." - John Green, TFIOS
1.9k · Aug 2014
Judging the Cover
Shruti Atri Aug 2014
To be beautiful
Is to be almost dead,
Is it not?

Your voice is never heard,
'Cause your face talks too loud...


I hate who they think I am,
And as a result, I hate them.
That's why I don't like a lot of people--
*You see, it's their fault!
Inspired by Penny Dreadful. A dialogue read...'To be beautiful is to be almost dead, isn't it? The lassitude of the perfect woman, the languid ease. The obeisance. Spirit trained, anemic, pale as ivory and weak as a kitten.'
This had me thinking...
1.8k · Sep 2014
Romanticizing Freedom
Shruti Atri Sep 2014
Freedom,
Like the rain, it washes all away
Past memories, horrors - everything is rinsed away; relief remains.
It feels like sand between your toes,
Leaving you lost in your impulsive throes.

Freedom,
In her dissolving smiles,
Her mischievous flirts,
Her sweet small skirts...

You've missed her for so long...

The touch of her spine,
The caress of her thighs,
The weightless good byes--

Ah! Freedom, *she smells like rain...
1.8k · Jul 2014
I am myself...
Shruti Atri Jul 2014
Do not look at me like that.
With those eyes that see only what is shone to you.
And you accept all of it.
No questions asked.
No logic, no reason to seek.
No.
I am not just an object you can look at.

Do not look at me like that.
With the judgment of their thoughts
That you so shamelessly replicate
in your feeble, feeble mind.
No originality.
You bore me in your dullness.
No.
I am not who you think I am.

Do not look at me like that.
With ears filled with their whispers.
I can hear them too, you know.
You're not very discreet.
No.
I am not defined by the stories they say.

I am not an open book,
Or a single shade,
Or a monotone.
I feel nothing for their interests.
I am not alive in their ballads of woe.

I am alive in myself.
I am the abstract, I am the obtuse.

My colors, range to infinity.
My stories have happy sad tormenting everafters.
I do not care for their hollow affection or their false ratification.
I am unattached and I breathe fire--
in.
out.


I'm ablaze in my little place of ease.
Even alone, I have found my love...
She was there along.
Residing in me,
It was always--
me.

*I am myself. That is enough.
Inspired by the line: 'I am myself. That is not enough.' - by Sylvia Plath, from The Jailer.
1.8k · Apr 2015
What will I do?
Shruti Atri Apr 2015
Walking in the garden,
I stepped onto the grass
Barefoot,
And revelled in the tingles
On the soles of my feet
That made me smile.

The grass was wet.
Absently, I sat myself down
And felt the grass in my hands...
'The grass is wet,' I thought,
'It feels nice, cool and peaceful,
But water doesn't catch fire...'


*Can the fire inside me burn in serenity?
Or will it burn out my peace
And c
          o
           n
          s
         u
         m
           e
               me?
1.8k · Jul 2014
noisy rain, growling thunder
Shruti Atri Jul 2014
rain finally falls,
pitter-patter,
the heavens burst,
splitter-splatter,
it pours,
drip-drop
down,
noisily,
making itself known,
and thunder growls,
to tell me,
'I'm here!'.
It was a good rainy day in Mumbai today, the most awaited, the first of the season! =D
Shruti Atri Jan 2015
There is a blackness in my heart,
This blackness is complete.

Don't fret, in the light, the blackness is forfeit.

There is a blackness in my heart,
Do not enter! My blackness will lead you astray.

I'm already here love, my light will not betray.

There is a blackness in my heart,
In this blackness, you and I will fall.

I will fight off your blackness, together we'll stand tall.

There is a blackness in my heart,
I can feel it's need to consume me.

Don't give up yet--
Our battle will end, we will walk free.


There is a blackness in my heart,
In my blackness, your light dwindles, low.

Your blackness--
Yes, I understand now, 'we reap what we sow'.


There is a blackness in my heart,
This blackness, I've lost all I found in the way.

In this blackness, I will stay...
With you by my side, *
we fight another day!
Leaping into the unknown, with hope and courage as your companions...they're all the help you need...
1.7k · Jul 2021
Breathe
Shruti Atri Jul 2021
Why don't we have scars
For feeling too deeply?

No broken ribs
No punctured lungs
And yet, not an easy breath...

--

I want to blink out the stars
And let the blackness fall upon me

To forget this crippling despair
And breathe freely again...
For those who need a reminder: Mental health is important
1.7k · Jan 2015
The Hunt
Shruti Atri Jan 2015
A seed is planted,
Leaves grow,
Flowers bloom,
Fruits ripen,
The bark toughens,
The stem branches out...

Seasons change,
Leaves wither,
Flowers wilt,
The fallen fruits rot,
The bark wrinkles,
The branches grow higher...

The eternal onset of time,
As the sand escapes the funnel of the hourglass.
Invert and repeat for every empty bulb.
A life, progressing from *birth,

Ending at decay.

Time, she plays her tune-
Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-...
Like a metronome set to 60 BPM;
Never stopping, ever stomping on,
Oscillating to the mechanical rhythm of Time's pendulum,
Journeying to a finite end on a path set up to infinity.

*Time, she is proof, that we are alive--
Proof that decay hunts down the living...
1.6k · Nov 2014
Threadbare
Shruti Atri Nov 2014
We live another complication everyday,
Adding another thread to bind us.

It's been so long...
Can't move my wings, my limbs--
How did I get stuck?
Did I do this to myself?
The *puppeteer
is pulling too hard!
I want to move,
But I can't
I'm twisted up,
The thread is too tight;
I can feel the dread of suffocation on the horizon.
I'm trying, I'm fighting,
I want to be free!

But I can't move anymore...

The thread won't let me,
The strings are being pulled too tight--
My prison, it cuts into my skin,
I can barely breathe enough to live on...
I want this suffering to end!

Aah! Yes...
I remember now,
I took the thread of my own free will!

It started that day...
When I heard them speak,
I did as they asked,
And the thread wound around me.

I didn't ask for answers and didn't speak of my questions;
I kept on going where their path lead,
And I ended up here:
Suffocated, stranded, in naïve ignorance.

Even though the puppeteer wants me to move,
Even though I can feel his anxiety to help;
He can't do a thing.

The thread has been wound too tight,
*If the thread won't snap soon,
I will.
Inspired by the dialogue: "I wear the chain I forged in life," replied the Ghost. "I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free-will, and of my own free-will I wore it. Is its pattern strange to you?" - from A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens.
1.6k · Jan 2016
The most selfish act
Shruti Atri Jan 2016
It was selfish of her
To leave.
She needed the change;
Had to move,
Having been stuck so long
She felt suppressed,
And so depressed.
She just needed to leave,
But where could she start?

He was easiest to leave,
The most convenient to cut off;
He didn't hold on,
He didn't even try.
She didn't know,
Was she angry
That it was easy for her to leave?
Or that he didn't even try to stop it?

But she had to leave,
The reasons didn't matter,
The semantics were moot,
Whether he wanted her to,
Or he didn't--
Whether she wanted to,
Or she didn't want him to let her;
Nothing mattered.

It was truly selfish of her
To leave.
She had to fly
And he made it easy for her
To leave him behind...
1.5k · Feb 2016
The Bullshit List
Shruti Atri Feb 2016
I quit
your ******* list
a long time ago...
1.5k · Mar 2016
Semantics
Shruti Atri Mar 2016
With every day that passes,
They say we grow into someone else;
But we have a person inside of us,
Who we meet every time we wake.
It's the person you speak to
Right before you sleep at night,
That conscious mind you coexist with;
The voice that speaks to you,
That lives in you...

*We simply become our true selves again...
1.5k · May 2015
It hurts...
Shruti Atri May 2015
Don't hurt me anymore,
Stop clipping my wings;
Can't you see?
I'm bleeding here in agony...

The torture, the pain,
Why won't you stop?
Just leave me be...
Why can't you see the human in me?
1.3k · Jul 2014
The Morning Star
Shruti Atri Jul 2014
The angel that fell,
The one bound in hell;
Burning in fires deep and dark.

Banished from heaven,
His sins they call seven;
He eats off their bones like a shark.

Liars and cheaters,
Thieves and deceivers;
They squirm as for hell they depart.

He breeds on their fears,
He laughs at their tears,
And squeezes all hope from their heart.

He owns all their souls,
Makes them walk over coals,
He tortures their spirit with his fork;

He whips open their skin,
While he burns up their kin,
And slaughters their faith just like pork.

With hate for a heart,
He plays well his part,
As he waits for a new light of day;

A day when he shall be free,
And roam the earth with glee,
While those who banished him shall pray.

But pray as they may,
For another Godly say,
No warmth shall break through the cold;

While innocents are slayed,
And daylight delayed,
And stories of hope sell like gold.
The wanderings of an empty mind...'An idle mind is a devil's workshop'.
1.3k · Apr 2015
I am what you make me...
Shruti Atri Apr 2015
The world I see
Is colored in red.
I know, I'm the monster
Under your bed...


You cry yourself
To sleep every night;
I speak to you,
Each. Word. Filled. With. Ssspite.

I like your flesh,
It's pink and sweet.
I want to bite it off
And taste your meat.


You're a bird in a cage,
That cage isn't mine;
You refuse to leave
Your self behind.

You're a willing puppet,
I'll play the puppeteer's part;
I'll tear open your flesh
And rip out your heart.


I'll torment and torture,
Till your words are stained red.
*Beware! I'm the monster
Under your bed...
Inspired by Tokyo Ghoul (the manga)...
1.3k · Dec 2021
Reading
Shruti Atri Dec 2021
To be haunted
By voices of people
I have known,
But will never meet;

To be drawn
Into worlds
I have explored,
But will never see;

The sheer emotion of reading,
Magnifies and withers across each page;
With ink tearing into our hearts,
Leaving us yearning at each epilogue...
Shruti Atri Sep 2014
By following the light,
You will break yourself.
You will be punched and pushed,
And stretched to lengths
you never thought you could venture.
But you will survive.

The light saves you from that decaying part of you that would be your demise.
It heals you and makes you whole.
By destroying you,
and putting you back together.
Tighter.
Stronger.


--

A new day,
A new person.


You rise from the fire;
The flames lick your skin.
They feel warm,
And you feel rejuvenated.

You are reborn from fire, from the light,
And light you become.

--

The darkness is repelled by your presence;
You have broken free of your deficiencies.
By conquering your demons,
You have proved yourself above the dark.

The blackness is trapped beneath your feet,
*It can never control you again...
The unbearable struggles that we endure, they make us stronger...
1.3k · Jan 2015
When writing a poem...
Shruti Atri Jan 2015
Let's write ourselves a poem,
You be the verse, I'll be the rhyme;

Let's find ourselves a feast of words,
And slash them down on white.

Let's sit ourselves in a quiet corner,
So temptation isn't bright;

Let's be ourselves for each other,
And spend our days in the light.

Let's be together for once, forever,
The rest can wait in line;

Let's not change the mellow mood,
And forget the needle and the pine.

Let's lay by ourselves for a little moment,
While I spell our love out on your spine;

Let's share ourselves a life's dream,
And paint it on the starry skies.

Let's pen ourselves our memories,
To remember for all of time...

*I told you we'd write ourselves a poem,
But you ditched me for the dime!
Shruti Atri Jul 2014
standing alone,
confused,
you stare at the world ahead,
a life you'd once imagined in your head...

weeping quietly,
you hurt,
you finally acknowledge the dull hum,
the loneliness that made you numb...

waiting patiently,
you hope,
refusing to go down without fighting,
struggling to emblaze the torch you're lighting...

dreaming serenely,
you wish,
to see her again, to say it out loud,
explaining that your heart is ever afloat the cloud...

singing softly,
you rejoice,
she's standing at your door, torn and dazed,
glad you weren't just a memory she crazed...

vowing silently,
you've fallen,
she's in your arms for now forever,
for her, you'd brave a year of stormy weather...

*you'll never let her go, never again...
For hope that doesn't falter...
1.2k · Sep 2015
Lost and found
Shruti Atri Sep 2015
If I ever get where I want to be,
I'd like to be forgotten,
To never be recognized;
To just exist without an existence...
So that I can feel alive where I stand
With every breath, sound, touch;
So that I can witness the world
In all it's entirety
Without standing behind a screen of an identity...
To taste the colors with my eyes
And appreciate the eternity of the world
Without a barrier of an illusioned existence--
*For I won't exist any more,
And all barriers would, therefore, have been forfeit..
1.2k · Jul 2014
the progression of a day...
Shruti Atri Jul 2014
light dark bright black white,
the yin and the yang of time;
morning, day then night.
Haiku
1.2k · Jul 2021
Bitter sunrise
Shruti Atri Jul 2021
Bleeding through moments
Spent alone and lost

Sinking in thoughts
That fill my heart with frost

Dreading another sunrise
Another day to live through

Enduring this bitter loneliness
While I try to find my way to you
1.2k · Aug 2014
Two Worlds
Shruti Atri Aug 2014
Twice upon a time, did our worlds collide.
Two pairs of limbs, had broken ties.
Two worlds had ended, when one began;
As a new dawn crept, I held your hand.
I came across a question on Quora: 'Can you write a short story starting with "Twice upon a time"?'...and the words just flowed :) I hope you liked it!
Shruti Atri Aug 2014
'Life is still a blank canvas', he said.

So she told him to paint a house.
All fenced up,
And to color the grass extra green.
(So that temptation wouldn't court him)

'Why that picture?', he asked.

She replied, *'Because no matter where you go,

Your roots should always bring you home.'

'Because even if the sky is the limit,
And you reach it, the greenest grass
Even from way up above,
will always be your beacon.'

'Because change should be a shade vibrant,
Only then change could mean growth.'

'Because that home you build,
Will be your resting place.
After you've conquered your dreams--
It'll be your place of ease.'

'And', she said, 'because marks and goals
are set first,

the course decided later.
Lastly, *because those pictured endings,
are the best place to begin.'
For a fresh start...
Shruti Atri Jul 2014
when it aches,

with every breath;
in out in out in
out.

each inhale exhale punctuated with a sharp pang of pain that leaves you gasping on the floor.

when you bleed,

and you can't find a puncture wound;
drip drop drip drop drip
drop.

the crimson nectar that flows out of your veins, fleeing from your heart, evading you.

when you go blind,

your head aches;
bang bang boom bang bang
boom.

a hammer tolling on the top floor of your anatomy, like that church bell you religiously avoid.

when sounds get overwhelming,

screeeeeeechy sounds,
that make you want to jump off a cliff.
as if your ears decided to behave like 'whats-her-name' at 'holy-****-that-time-of-the-month!'.

you should know then, that you've been shot;
right at that literal sweet center spot.

and you've fallen hard,
for that treacherous huntress.
who would chew you raw,
with all her blunt honesty,
with all her fierce stubbornness,
with all her untamed compassion,
not to forget, her screaming womanhood
you can't get your eyes off...


the one who would walk all over you,
in her not-less-than-seven-inch Steveies';
and wouldn't give it a second thought.

and you know,
in that torn tattered broken cardiac ***** at your core,
*that you would let her...
'To love is to destroy, to be loved is to be the one destroyed.' - Cassandra Clare, The Mortal Instruments
1.2k · Oct 2014
Push Through
Shruti Atri Oct 2014
Their laugh was your alarm,
You woke up to find yourself down.

Don't let your awakening be caught
In the circle of sleep and sentience again.

Live. In every moment. Don't close your eyes anymore.
Don't rest now. An uneasy siesta just isn't enough.

Saddle your dragon and fly to the limitless sky.
Breach your extremes and push through them.

Let your armor shine, let them know they forged it.
The pain they caused, it has welded with your skin.

When you arise from your trial,
*The next time they laugh, there won't be tears in your eyes.
1.2k · Feb 2016
Just Moon-y things...
Shruti Atri Feb 2016
The ride of the tide,
A change in its shape,
It's soft glow in the dark...

It seeks the blackness
*And consumes it.
1.1k · Feb 2016
Her Will...
Shruti Atri Feb 2016
She is dead,
Now I am free;
She had a will
And her eyes on me.
Her will had strings,
But can't you see,
I tore her strings
And I broke free...

She fought me hard,
But still she fell;
She kept me in,
While I gave her hell.
I was her nightmare
She'd never tell;
As weak she was,
She loved him well.

Her will is dead,
And so is she;
The one she protected,
Is no more free--
The one she hid,
Is now exposed;
The one she loved,
Will be disposed.

It cannot be,
She shares my stage;
She cheated death,
And turned the page--
She's alive inside,
Fighting the wars I wage;
She did not die,
*She's crying in the birdcage...
Shruti Atri Dec 2014
The time we ran out of,
The water that ran past this riverbank,
The opportunity for letting go,
The exit left behind...
All choices, all roads not taken are forgotten
Where did the forgotten things go
Is there a way to get to them again?

Could I wish for a rewind?

*I want a redo
An overdo
If ever you've wondered how unforgiving the hourglass can be...
1.1k · Dec 2014
Chaotic Fate...
Shruti Atri Dec 2014
The beauty of chaos is that,
It doesn't always stand for destruction;
Sometimes it's merely a lack of structure.
It's Fate, undergone a twisted lobotomy...

--

You're caught in a whirlwind, with no sense of direction;
Once the storm has passed
And the feeling of sanity is restored,
You get up and walk on,
On whatever path you've been dropped on;
And after a few miles you'll ask yourself:
*Was it all meant to be?
No matter the chaos, no matter the destruction, the confusion, it will always subside. There will always be a path to walk on after you've been thrown amock, remember to gather your courage and march on...
For, what else is better than to be alive?
1.1k · Oct 2014
Tin Eyes
Shruti Atri Oct 2014
That day was the first time
That I saw the light.
Out of a carton, and onto a shelf.
My life was about to begin,
But I was alone and confined.

I could feel a presence to my left,
And another to my right,
But no one to please my eyes.
Till the little boy came,
With the tingle of a bell.
Wonder, gleamimg in his eyes;
He looked around and smiled.

He ran straight to my rack,
Brimming with excitement,
And jarred me with the shake of a lifetime.
Jumping to get his mum's attention,
He said, "I wan' this 'un!"

I felt a pang in the middle of my molded chest,
And I wished I could keep that smile.
I tried to imitate the little boy,
But for all my wishes I could not move;
I was but a plastic doll: armed, clothed and inanimate,
Stored to be sold...


The little boy was a joy to see,
Every morning he would wake up to me,
He would speak to me while going to school,
And play with me instead of eating his food.

His father and mum were hardly home,
He stayed with his nanny and loved her so,
But talk was little for the endless chores.

Late at night when his parents would come,
He would try to talk to them,
But was rushed away with talk of excuse.
In the dark he lay, tucked in with me,
Tears would stain the covers and me,
He held me close as he shut his eyes,
And the next morning again he'd wake to me.

For a life to be spent alone is sad indeed,
With a world so big and plenty,
To have not a soul to talk to can be lonely.
He cried with me by his side,
Thinking he was all alone;
If only I could move this plastic form,
I could let him know it wasn't so!


He played with me day and night,
He kept me close when he shut his eyes,
He took me to his school and everywhere else,
He gave me friends: his other toys and himself;
But his tears every night always stained my heart,
I strived so much to play my part,
To make him smile from dawn to dusk,
To comfort him when smiling was tough.


This cursed life I wish to forfiet,
If only once I could shed but a tear along with him--
*Even toys have things and people
They wish to protect and cherish,
But tears won't fall from these tin eyes...
Inspired by a dialogue by Sol, the Tin Soldier in One Piece (Chapter 711).

Comments and criticisms  are welcome :)
1.1k · Jan 2015
That everyday moment...
Shruti Atri Jan 2015
We live under the sun,
Its brightness warming us,
Leading us to every other minute,
One moment at a time;
It casts our shadow on the wall.
But in every moment we live,
We forget.
The shadows, they lengthen till dusk,
And vanish in the dark.
And we don't miss our shadow,
We don't remember.
That gentle touch that didn't leave a mark,
But marks our existence in the light...


Just as we don't always remember,
The gentle love shared with us
In a stranger's smile.
A smile, which with a helpful hand,
Lifts us up and tells us we were seen.
*A gentle touch that doesn't leave a mark,
But acknowledges our existence in this busy, busy world...
1.1k · Apr 2015
Who are we?
Shruti Atri Apr 2015
We live in this world
And wake, walk, talk and take of it.
We gamble our survival by living here
And breathe and drink and eat and sleep in its shelter.
We seek ourselves and meet each other;
At other times, we thirst and hunger for a part of another's life.
We lust and crave and take pride in ourselves
While we look around for all that isn't ours.
We grab and we ******,
We demolish and destroy,
And forsake this world that sustains us.
We forgo our debts and shrug responsibility,
By walking away from what we have caused.
We leave nought but destruction in our wake
No matter where we go...

--

We are humans who can think.
We are beings with an intellect.
We are capable of communicating with one another...
And yet,
*We wear a mask we never take off...
972 · Jul 2014
Differences?
Shruti Atri Jul 2014
They say we are Different;
But how can that be true?
When all I see,
Is me and you.


Earth is but a ball of dirt,
Devoid of man's treaties;
Still, it sustains within itself
Thousands of different species.

So why by them were these
Distinct separations made?
Why were colours distinguished,
And Humanity left to fade?

What is their purpose
Of praying to God above,
When his creation of a Heart,
They condemn without Love?

They walk the same soil;
They breathe the same air;
They drink the same water,
Then why do they despair?--


It's not Faith as they call it;
It's Vile Hyprocrisy redefined,
That leaks Doubt and Angst
Into a perfectly Tolerant mind.

For they frown at our Choices,
They mock at our Bruise;
They scorn at our Differences,
But our Similarities they refuse!--


It's a matter of the mind,
That plays forth illusions;
*Differences are evasive maneuvers
Against mental intrusions!
Differences are labels born from one's craving for familiarity, and act as shelters to run and hide from the alienness of progress.
969 · Oct 2014
Unwarranted Compulsions
Shruti Atri Oct 2014
Overdone rituals and the burden of traditions.
Peer pressure and annoying gossip prevailing above reason and reality.
The unwarranted compulsion of academic excellence, with no acceptable compromise!

Our rotten society and it's cruel, cruel judgment!
Living in a body, no, it's a cage--
Craving acceptance in isolation--

The cage became a cave
And eventually, the door shut.

It got so dark inside,
I could only see black...
I was sick of it!
Frustration rising to the point of retardedness!
Angry! So very ANGRY!
I wanted to defeat it,
This darkness on the inner side.
So bad, the ache for reprieve was getting worse!
So desperate!
For a way out...

Then, inspiration struck!
And a melody chimed its way in.
With the clock going tick tock
I imagined a chocolate block;
And I ate my way out!

*I've never bothered with their rules again.
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