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Nishu Mathur Apr 3
I go back in time
as I get a whiff of some familiar scent.

Like the aroma of spices from my mother’s pulao —- the blend of bay leaves, cinnamon, black cardamom and cloves
that left eyes sparkling in anticipation of a royal meal.

Or the scent of fruits
that made their way into my lunch at school - bananas, apples, grapes, oranges
along with an embroidered napkin
that held onto the smell of the season, the love of parents and the comfort of home.

The tanginess of lemons in my father’s cologne —- a burst of summer every time I opened his closet.

The fragrance of roses from incense sticks that my grandmother would light as she prayed —
the mysticism of life in her folded hands.
The smoke would rise from the sticks, curling, to reach heaven along with her prayers -
and I would look upward wondering if God could hear her songs and smell the roses.

The heady scent of rain and earth as we played in puddles
walking and slipping
splashing and laughing
lost in the moment
hearts as light as those drops of rain.

A whiff of these and I travel back in time
I miss the innocence
and melange of those
happy scents and aromas.

It seems like a different world.
And though far away —
It seems like yesterday.
Yumi Apr 3
Bewitching like the Higanbana,
She rocks her hips around
Like the blossoms that sway
As the gush kisses them.
She chants her tune,
Inundating the scene with her melody,
Dragging me into the deepness
of tranquility and isolation.
She looks at me
With her hypnotic eyes,
Pulling me further
Towards her with no effort.
She beams at me,
And the whole world sinks
Underneath her feet,
Like the cigarette stub
That i put out every night.
She looks so serene,
Yet she haunts me dreadfully.
Arthur Vaso Apr 2
I have flown here
to whisper sweet words
from beyond

the silent voice
blinded by love
and the fluttering of wings

her voice soft and sweet
reciting prose and verse
from old stories of lore

veiled in this mist of heartbreak
no longer yearning for the light
the bells toll, loud and deep into the night

years before, bone and blood
waiting for the false promises of spring
now the seasons just sad recollections

time to leave
fly back among the stars
and fade away
Piyush Apr 2
The wound is at her heart,
Her world is apart,
Trying to reach her,
Yet I can't speak with her.

Why is it so tough?
Whenever I see her,
I just stand there,
Frozen in the cold, with just a cough.

Is it my fault?
That I never stood by her,
Or is it her fault?
That she tried others?

I reach for words,
But they never stay,
They slip through my fingers
And fade away.

The day feels different,
But she wouldn’t know,
Once, I was there—
Now, I watch from the shadow.

If I had spoken,
Would things be the same?
Or was I meant to
Lose this game?

Today should be special,
Like the days we once knew,
But time has spoken—
And so, I stay silent too.
Today is her birthday, and I can't wish her,
So I wrote this as a gift to her.
Selena Apr 2
When the night whispers your name
In the darkest room,
I’m back to that trip on train
Watching your smile bloom.

Your hair swaying in the warm breeze
As your eyes sparkled;
At that moment, everything ceased,
But my heart in battle.

Struggling to keep it silent,
Just so you will never know
How my heart wants you this instant,
But I failed to make it go.

I burn for you then and now the same
Like the flaring sun.
When the night whispers your name,
I am left undone.
Rubyredheart Apr 2
I’ve not driven Her streets alone with thoughts of you breaking through
since those jet-lagged days here from Taiwan…
Now, driving this eve I KNOW
with Her rivers and bridges, rainy days and viewing ridges
That this City holds hidden memories long—
See? She remembers still those 2 figures who sat & talked there on the water front…
Nor did She forget the love-entrenched girl scratching out (between clients) poetic lines
composed as her magical hands worked to relax
spasmed muscles…
Ironic that nothing yet worked to soothe
a spasming heart, denied…

This Sunday, more of Her streets I will see—
Like that one I was driving to work
when heart-break broke me until I thought
I’d just drive & drive on forever… though never Arrive…
I’ve arrived…Full circle but now
Unbreakable
As again a knife breaks through the rain
driving pain
Deep
(I don’t think you saw or cared to see
the wish I wrote that we go deep…
“I want you so deep…deep inside” as Vintage Culture sang)
I guess this is all to say,
as I drive through this tired city today,
Like these murky rivers etched on the map
There flows through my mind & my veins
a story—unfinished…
never to be
My frame is decaying, even faster when I stand.
A house, and I’m haunted, on hope’s burial land.
My windows, hollowed eyes that do nothing but stare,
At a world that shunned one with a life meant to bare.

These floorboards that shriek, are like my mournful cries,
As serpent-like phantoms shed skin and pass by.
Warm words that were etched in the walls are now cold,
Just echoes of a story that will never be told.

The clocks restless ticking, its echoes, they scream.
If only to remind me that I’ve shattered, like dreams.
My will to live was buried long ago under a promise.
These cobwebs were spun, only to trap any solace.

-“Oh, cursed soul,” a ghost haunts as I weep,
“Do you feel my icy grip as you’re failing to sleep?

I’ve watched as you wander these fated terrains.
I have hollowed your heart; I will empty your veins.”

- “Forget now, the warmth that ignited your soul.
What you thought you could hold; I have made to turn cold.”

- These words no one hears, they disturb my fraught mind.
As my black stricken eyes pierce the void till I’m blind.

- “Awaken, child unwanted!” he pleads through the dust.
“Once I’m fed from your essence, you will finally rust.”

- Those words make a promise, my hopeless future forms.
Reassurance that the curse set for me has been born.

There’s a cold empty room, where my hopes should reside.
Shattered mirrors hold proof, that my dreams have since died.
A vibrant tapestry now sways, ripped in the wind,
Whispering of lost motives to a life that wants to end.

The doors are creaking open, letting in all I fear.
My tormented nightmares are all that is clear.
In every shadowed corner my demons reside.
If only to remind me, I’m imprisoned here inside.
Kritika Mar 30
Close your eyes and ponder
When was the last time you ever let yourself wonder?
When was the last time you asked and inquired of things;
that rekindled in your heart that fire?

When was the last time you let yourself roam free?
When was the last time you let yourself dance in the rain with nothing but pure bliss on your face?
When was the last time you ran barefoot on a beach; the last time you let the sand cover your every inch?
When was the last time you chased fireflies at dusk or the last time you skipped stones across the lake?
Why did you make it your last and let it all fade?

When was the last time you saw the sun melt into the sea?
Or the last time you climbed a tree just to touch the sky?
The last time you lay on the grass looking up to the clouds in the sky…
Why did you make it your last? Why?

You never knew it’d be your last; your last time chasing fireflies or your last time skipping stones.
You never knew it’d be your last time touching the sky and letting some warmth get to your bones.
If you never knew it’d be your last then why did you stop?
Why did you stop letting the rain wash your face? Why did you stop skipping stones across the lake?

Open your eyes.
Who said it needed to be your last?
Go out there, do it all over again.
Run barefoot on the beach, let yourself roam free.
Go and climb another tree and see the sun melt into the sea.
Be as carefree as you used to be;
Because who was it really?
Who said that it needed to be your last?
In sweet Springtime
the fields are abuzz,
while the breeze whispers
the scattered secrets
of compassionate couples,
who met during the season. 

A picturesque paradise,
is peppered with flowers
that gracefully sway
atop the rolling hills
with their blooms held high,
colorful and confident.

Forest leaves rustle quietly
sighing softly like a lover
dreaming of their soulmate,
as birds flit between branches,
making their humble abode
in the boughs of fond memories.

Spring rejoices for a while,
bringing beauty out of burrows
and sprouting the shyest of seeds
before it carefully takes the earth,
and almost reluctantly, places it
into Summer's waiting hands,
as it wholeheartedly promises
to return once again
as it always has,
every year.
Spring is my favorite season, as it always returns when needed the most.
And it keeps its promises better than a lot of people.
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