How unrealistic the idealistic can be
And yet, there is still our commitment
To something far realer than any war-
When you realize it's what it's fought for.

the girl
gauzy dress
tattered and torn
running
breathless through brambles
reaches a river
pursued
panting
she must cross it
take a step into
freezing water
numbing bones
shaking shivering
pale skin and blue lips
trip
and
fall
hands go forward
trying to catch
whatever is left of yourself
but pieces crumble and scatter
on the mossy rocks
sharper than they
look
dogs barking
men yelling
filthy
hunting
they will be here soon
so get up
because there is no more time
to lie here
and wish you were home
the girl
who was maybe once loved
is now drowning
face down
in frigid murky water
the only company in death
is those who persecute her
as her pale body
begins to rot
even god
starts to
forget
about her
first
her hands
then
her face
then
her hair
until there is
nothing
left
so that when the dogs
frothing lips
raised fur
and the men
shouting voices
savage thoughts
arrive
the girl is gone
nothing left of her but a
whisper of wind
the scent of sandalwood
and strawberries
and ****
and summer days
long forgotten
but now remembered by those
who never knew them
maybe god didnt forget her
maybe he saved her

delicate petals unfold
and swallows swoop and glide
in a dance of new beginnings
as the earth breathes
a gasp of renewal
and green stretches
from beneath the cold grey

each bud
is a promise
each raindrop
a melody
and the sun
wraps its arms
around the world
lifting shadows
with gentle warmth

as hope blooms
in every corner
i grow with the flowers
learning to bloom
in the season of becoming
as spring whispers
softly through the trees

Through its bend.
It hangs on to a promise.
One that hasn’t been fulfilled.
Its colors now dull,


Cascading from behind the clouds.
Bruised yet, fleeting in the blink of an eye.
It searches. Finding reason to smile.
The sun peeks its head out from behind the clouds.
Catching a glimpse of its beauty.


Someday.
Love won’t feel so constrained.
Giving it something to wrap its arms around.
Through its bend.
A brighter day is just around the corner

Our chariot soared through the tunnel
And from out of the dark, light.
The sight of the city erupting
With fires' glare burning bright,
Venom like a snake's bite.
Vast buildings careening down,
As we maneuvered around them
The air was thick with smoke
And the smell of lead & sulfur,
The ground shook in violence.
We landed in a clearing,
The end was close at hand
The limits to see it, subjective;
For many laid dead in our stead,
Many enemies & siblings come to head,
And long did we have to tread before rest.
I unfurled the flag
And hoisted it up overhead,
Flying high on the mast.
I said my prayers
And made my peace,
Before the rain began.
All around me was storming,
Shutters battered marble
Amid crys for no quarter-
Blood was to be our recompense

Dear future husband,
It's with a great sense of urgency I write into the future.
Loving me won't be easy
Hailing from a broken home has taught me how love can be a double edge sword.
Therefore, I argue and talk back
I over think and analyse scenarios beyond imagination
I make up arguments before it even happens
I am an overthinker by default
Don't let this scare you.

Dear future husband,  
I'd want you to know I am a hopeless romantic with a wall as high as wall of China
But those can easily fall as that of jericho
With you, I'd want a love as white as snow on Christmas
I'd want a never ending friendship as the waters of Niagara falls.
I promise to never stop fighting my inner demons and insecurities
As long as you assure me how we are partners in this ship of ours

Dear future husband,  
It's with utmost sincerity that I write to you on this day, because I know I'm finally ready.
I have always hidden in my coven
I await your presence,
And would be welcoming you with open arms when we get to meet
So future habiby, what's the wait for?
I'm sure your ribs must ache enough from a missing piece.

Bellah…

My letter arrived from a hollow shell.
Words I had written stealing my joy, as my gaze fell
Into a well of despair so deep.
Monsters awoke from their silent sleep.
Locked away like a morbid zoo, each one a fragment of me.
Unwanted children, to foster they say.
Crafted from shadows, made to stay
Each one with their unique name.
Logic to guide my sight, dissect their presence
to pierce the night.
No longer specimens to remain defiled, these monsters are mine
to be reconciled.
Lines blurred like a tangled web,
where neglected whispers softly sob.
Children hidden in the dark, second to one.
Yearning for light of sunshine, a healing touch.
To the depths, I lower my hand to lead to a better land.
Fresh air to breathe, water to cleanse.
Love as the balm for what life suspends.
This journey is mine, with every tear to face my shadows
conquering my fear.
For in healing them, I find my own way.
Towards the dawn of a new day.

Clung to this sentiment like a leech in the night.
Thought I had a tegument, a mystical flight.
Turns out I was limpin', a mismatch of rhymes.
Staring in a cracked mirror, ecstatic precious time.
Blindsided by this impact, a lyrical bomb.
Shattered my perception, exposed where I'm all wrong.
Life's a dehydrated trip, specifics all astray.
Regrets on repeat, self respect in the trash.
Needed a lyrical slap, to see the abyss I couldn't admit.
Gotta take a breather, rewrite this whole skit.
Shallow anxieties clouding my vision, blurring the end.
Clearing out the mud, let these lines transcend.
Let's meet what debris is shallow,
Hard to see the shadows in Murky Waters