Ye raste jane hume kis or le jate hai,
Zara sa apnate hai kabhi,
To kabhi begane lagne lag jate h.

Ye tedhe-medhe ulte-sidhe raste,
Kis gali kis nukad par mud jate hai,
Jaha bhi ye mud jate hai wahi se naye mod ban jate hai.

Har mod har dagar par ye naye kisse nayi kahaaniyan sunate hai,
Kabhi haste hai hume to kabhi hume rulate hai,
Kabhi kisi ki zindgi ki shuruat to kabhi kisi ke kahaani ka ant ban jate hai.

Yehi to hai jo hume zindgi ke har naye-purane pahlu se rubaru karwate hai,
Jo ye girate hai to uth kar fir chalne ka sabab bi to hume yehi samjhate hai,
Ye raste hi to hai jo musafiro ko unki manzil ki or le jate hai.

Jo kabhi hote hai naraz to paas bhi ye khud hi bulate hai,
Apno ki ehmiyat kya hai is zindgi me yehi to hume btate hai,
Hai apnate kisko kabhi to kabhi kisiko bhul bhi ye jate hai.

Zindgi hai chalte rahne ka naam ye raste hi to hume yaad dilate hai,
Har pal har ghari kuch naya hume sikhate hai,
Jo milate hai kisise kabhi to kabhi kisiko dur bhi to yehi le jate hai.

Or agar gaur se dekha aur socha jaye to,
Zindgi ke mayine aur is hasin falsafe ka ehsaas  waqt be waqt aksar ye raste hi hume karwate hai.

I look at you and wonder,
How soft those tendrils feel,
Always pulling me asunder,
Pulling my mind to heel.

The looks you gave,
The depth of your eyes
Made my heart cave
As I reached new highs.

As if like pools of wisdom,
I'd willingly drown in them,
Feel my desires through a prism,
And allow fate to condemn

My hidden desires.
As they come and go
I seek not to douse the fires,
I'll leave the embers to glow.

Watch them light the night sky,
With a childish curiosity.
Against the damp ground, I lie
Carried by my precocity.

To share this
Would be wonderous,
This unadulterated bliss.
I'm left feeling ponderous.

Until such time,
I will lie here
Listening to the wind chime
As the embers disappear.

To taste the sounds
To turn back time
To read in complete darkness
To travel faster than light
All would have to be possible
For me to forgive

What is it's meaning?
I may never know,
I may have to keep dreaming
And let it flow.

Flow through my veins,
See it from afar,
Unshackle its chains,
Allow it to bruise and scar

Through flesh and bone,
Head and heart.
Ruptured then sewn,
So I don't fall apart.

Back and forth it goes,
All through my head
Like beatings and blows.
Exposed on the bed,

Vulnerable and raw.
It plays on my mind,
I watch it with awe.
It cannot be defined.

Uncertainty is rife,
While some may panic,
It is here I thrive,
Neither worried nor manic.

I trust in the universe,
I know it will be right.
While this may be adverse,
I choose to see the light.

Side profile portraits at an open mic
delayed dimming lights
and sketch imprecise.
She draws me,
so I write her.
Lines written or lines drawn
we do not deter.

And so,

Right by her
my heart concurs
that to write by her
is to love in verse.