I look up at the stars
Because they are the only ones that will listen
I can hear them talking from afar
But the rest of you just see them glisten
They know so much
But you just go on and mind your business.
Maybe if you hush
If you let me spill my secrets
If I give you my heart
And you have the grace to keep it
Then you could be my star
But I know you'll never be it

For days and days
Weeks and weeks
Months and months
You work the hardest you can
You burn the midnight oil
You sacrifice a lot of things
That you hold dear
Whether it be cricket
Whether it be mobile games
Whether it be online shows
Whether it be exercise, even!
After all your sincere efforts
You are surely bound to think
That success would follow you
However, you are in for a rude shock
Far from being rewarded with success
You are instead punished
With failure after failure
As your efforts go down the drain
One after the other
Until all you are left with
Is a massive pile of zeroes
A reflection of your  rejection
By the candidates
By the clients
And, last but not the least
By your laptop itself!
Recruitment is such a devil

dear basil,

regret is useless
learn the lesson and move on

blow out the candle next time
don't go to auditions alone ever again
call your friends more
live outside of your head sometimes

don't wait for her to find someone else
because you're scared of rejection

make a wish before you blow out your birthday candles
write down that thought stuck in your head
don't wait until 10 pm to start that movie on a school night

but it's okay if you want to turn back time a little
just as long as you learn why

love,
basil

I’m missing how it used to be
How you’d seek me out like a little puppy
The sparks flying between us like fireworks
Anticipation building as we engaged in conversation

Then it finally happened on a steamy summer night
The curiosity we had about our bedroom manners
Discovered in an instant moment of gratification
Our bodies tangled as mouths and tongues tasted one another

But as expected things fall apart
We’ve slowly morphed into distant acquaintances
You pay me a visit only when you need to vent
As I listen in silence about the woman you love and hate

Laying wide awake in my bed
Thoughts of you take me over
Pleasing myself at the thought of your mouth
Gifting wet kisses to that sweet spot

You can’t deliver your message to my face
That this short lived connection was just that
Ceasing your exploration of me and my body
Our association has reached its final stop

Ask a question:
Let it dance on your tongue
like a child ballerina —
full of stutters and jumps
and hope.
As it spins circles
through your mind,
tears holes in the soles
of your shoes,
wait.
Let it fall swiftly and fast
so quiet it’s barely a whisper
if that at all.
And with no response,
let the hope fade
with a few tears
and maybe some scrapes
or bruises.
Just as the child,
pick yourself up
and walk towards the door,
allowing one glance behind you
before the soft click of it shutting
is all you can hear
and your locked up dreams
will never even know you were calling.

I waited in vain for your validation
In hopes that maybe you’d see me
The way I saw you, beloved
Sadly, you viewed me like thin air

While I was mesmerized by your cappuccino skin
And the way your hair danced in the wind
You couldn’t give a **** about me
I was just one of many who looked your way

Even as I would ignore you in plain sight
I would beg for your attention in my head
But you only threw crumbs at me
Like I was some lost street pigeon

Keep your linty crumbs for someone else
The hell you think you are?
I am deserving of so much riches
Yet I feel like some vagabond