imagine if everything was simple
we're all happy and living the life we desire
and we're all content with what we are given

and that satisfaction is genuine
nothing artificial or insubstantial
that's how we all wish life could be

maybe in another life, we would meet
maybe my hand would be in yours
maybe our hearts would belong to each other

if life was that simple, maybe we'd already know each other
maybe i would already mean something to you
but nothing is that easy

yet, i'm still happy with just the thought of you

Ten. Where are you? Are you there yet? It's been so long since we last met. I've missed you.

Nine. With only a few seconds to go, doesn't it feel like hours until we can be together once again?

Eight. Be patient. I'll be there soon enough. Wait for me.

Seven. Waiting sure does weigh an eternity. My heart is getting heavier by every passing moment.

Six. Think of the weight on your heart as a paper weight, atop the receipt I gave to you the last time we met, with our meeting place and time scrawled on it. Don't remove what anchors me to you.

Five. Pulling heartstrings won't get you anywhere, you know. Hope can be the worst betrayal.

Four. And hope can be the best loyalty. Now, will you hope and be loyal?

Three. Anything it takes to be, as long as it's with you. You have my pinky swear.

Two. Give me your four other fingers. And your eyes. And your attention. All of you, I miss it and I long for it.

One**. Midnight. He turned me around, 180 degrees, a half-moon, a lemon-slice, a perfect arc right into his arms. The minute hand has finally reached the hour hand. And our hands have finally reached each other.

if the sun goes down
the moon goes up,
and when the sun goes up
the moon goes down,
when will they ever meet?

We came to the concert and I saw you
From that moment there was nothing I could do.
At that same moment, you also saw me
And the changed my day, my life and history.

They played Jedarian and we both cheered
It had been our favorite for over a year
But we didn’t know it
Because we didn’t know us
But now we knew, because we were here.

It felt like magic because it never happened
Not in all the time of dating many strangers
But something told us to pay close attention
And, just this once, there was no danger.

We were watching our life change course
Something was happening that moved us.
Fate was being a perfect lady and for sure
She was with us and would never lose us.

They played Jedarian and we both cheered
It had been our favorite for over a year
But we didn’t know it
Because we didn’t know us
But now we knew, because we were here.

It had to be right that our song was played
The gentle music and the mellow words
Seemed to underscore the future of love
It played, we sang along and we both heard.

I never saw anyone in all my life and time
Who so perfectly made me smile and speak.
We started on our journey together then
And after years, we have not reached the peak.

They played Jedarian and we both cheered
It had been our favorite for over a year
But we didn’t know it
Because we didn’t know us
But now we knew, because we were here.

My heels clip on
London concrete.
My hamstrings strain
To increase my stride.
I slalom around
Pavement zombies,
Phone junkies,
Loitering monkeys.

Don’t they see?
I’m late for a meeting
With a client of grandeur.
A key player.
A major money man.
(I can’t drop the name
Due to a
Signed NDA).

It was suppose to be
A blue sky meeting
On a grey winters morning.
But I slept too long,
And the tube
Went wrong,
And now I’ve
Got the dreads.

If I’m late,
My rep will be tarnished.
I’ll never secure
Another meeting again.
Because in this town,
Time is a diamond
We can’t possess.
But we know it exists;
Out there on the outskirts,
Out there in the sticks.

It’s below freezing but I’m
Working a sweat;
A pavement cardio,
A sidewalk rodeo,
A street athletics show.
There’s no way I am going
To be on time.
It’s curtains for me;
I’ve sealed my P45.

Finally I arrive.
I collapse at the entrance,
My power-walk ending
In a muted reception.
I approach the desk.
‘Yes?’
Glared a future
X-factor entrant.

‘Good morning.
I’m here to see
The top brass.
The big cheese.
The head honcho.
I was delayed, but please,
Pass my humblest regrets,
I am spinning a lie
Which I hope he accepts.’

‘I’m sorry, sir,’
The young lady chewed.
‘The Great Man is away,
Tanning on a beach.
You’ll need to reschedule;
He returns in two weeks.’

Sitting in the car,
I looked out the window
and there you were.
I tell her, "that's him!"
My heart was racing
as I opened the car door.
I hurried over to you,
we hugged
and I felt a million
I love yous
in less than a minute.

Meeting you must've been destiny,
Your bright smile lighting up my world.
The moment you entered my life,
It became so much more worthwhile.

We spent many summer days together,
Long nights talking about the world.
Winters spent wrapped up in blankets,
Enjoying each others company.

I wish I could go back with what I knew now,
Prevented many regretful mistakes.
I wish I let you know what I was thinking,
That I could have told you the truth.

I was in love with you,
You were the world to me.
But you had to leave me behind,
So I will keep my thoughts in mind.

Until we meet again.

Times between night and mornin,
Just when the chill about sets in,
Limbs frantically search for that crumpled quilt
Increasing warmth and ahh sweet grogginess.

A dream floats in my blank sleep
You and me tootling along a forgotten, familiar street
In a battered old Hyundai Santro?? it is.
Twenty years of acquired cobwebs melt
Evoke fond memories and unexplored possibilities
Overlaid with a wild imagination, the images move in slow motion

Me driving, your gaze surveying the landscape
You are older and plumper, I have a beer belly and a bald patch
There is not much to say, or too much to say but no time.
Four Eyes frequently lock and search for something
Knowing it but daring not to say.

Your sultry liquid voice breaks into a song, an old Urdu ghazal,
Of obscure origin and meaning,
The notes glide and acquire shapes in your husky abused throat,
Silvery quicksilver, flowing, and always round  at the edges
Unfettered and undisturbed by the bumpy ride and noisy springs
Brings whole of creation in the Battered old Hyundai Santro Still.

The vocal vibrates and resonates in my bones and skull and in my soul
Stimulates humours I didn’t know exist
Eyes lock again, a mild smile is exchanged,
We understand each other
Know the limits and improbabilities
Its not going to be in this life time dear.

Let’s seal it with a kiss
An embrace exchanged over the gear levers and handbrakes
Oblivious to the barreling old Hyundai Santro
Your tiny ******* and Pantene scented hair
Your lips still perfect, soft, warm, moist and downy at the corners,.
Unfamiliar yet so familiar.