Everyone's everywhere,  
Always busy, rushing by,  
In the end, nobody.

In a garden kissed by the morning dew,
A rosebud dreams, its petals few.
Wrapped in green, held tight and low,
It longs to bloom, but fears to grow.

The sun shines bright, a guiding light,
“Rise and shine, embrace your fight!”
But the earth holds firm, the roots dig deep,
Each sip a struggle, each step to leap.

The wind whispers soft, “You’ve got this, just wait,
Break the chains, embrace your fate.”
But doubt sneaks in, whispers of fear,
“Will I bloom? Will I appear?”

Through stormy nights and endless trials,
The rosebud fights, mile by mile.
Each thorn a victory, each tear a sign,
Of a journey hard, yet purely divine.

Then one day, with gentle grace,
The bud breaks free, reveals its face.
Petals unfold, in vibrant hue,
A story of strength, in colors true.

For in every struggle, beauty’s born,
A rose that blooms, from dusk till dawn.
And all who witness, all who see,
Find hope in how this rose came to be.

©Priyanka Bhagat

they've all become so desensitized,
drinking their coffee and watching people die.
and some part of the world
preaches values of kindness and peace,
but the weapons they've sold
are used every day to take lives of kids.
and they don't see the irony
of protecting borders, from what exactly?
when even survivors are getting tired,
when there's no hell deeper down, yet we still continue descending,
when every next morning comes with a list of names, lost to the fire,
they all would rather pretend it's a fiction,
                         a story,
                                       a lie,
drinking their coffee and watching people die.

Entrapped  within a single body,
living together in an uneasy harmony.

One dissipates Slow and Steady.
The other dominates, depending on the place, time, or money.  


Eventually, one must win and the others loose.  
When that moment arrives, they all leave
with or without a warning.

Yet, this is not an end, but a continuation. The cycle persists, repeating over millions of years.

The same souls, returning again and again.  Inhabiting different bodies, continuing their eternal journey.

In her gauzy garments
Above the bowing trees
The moon has many lovers
In the sighing breeze.

They all take her dancing
In exotic lands
They give her sparkling diamonds
They kiss her milk-white hands.

She is round & fullsome
Or slender as a waif
When she is then waning
Her flowers are kept safe.

Silken skeins of darkness
When she's waxing full
Are parted by her brightness
She is NEVER dull!

Her beaux are all so courtly
But she eschews them all
Her only love can make her pale
She burns at his call...

She lets out her moonbeams
Through her eyes they weep
She loves the one eclipsing her
They can NEVER meet!

She, so strong within her court
Will curtsey when he comes
The moon has many lovers

But she's taken by the SUN.


Catherine Jarvis
(C) 12/14/2019

I chase you like a dog,
relentless, unwavering,
with legs that tire
but never stop,

fueled by a never-ending desire
to be loved.

My eyes see past your soul,
piercing the depths of your being,

I've become a secondary character
in my own movie,
obsessing over your every move,
every breath.

You're the director,
and I want to be a star,

but alas, I'm just a pawn
on the board,
my heart beating to the rhythm
of your name,

a prisoner of my own passion.