I love harshly,
in the thicket with sword
I will not yield,
I'll be your shoulder, your shield

The boulder river almost called
the figure leaning on the bridge.

The height wasn't much
but one touch would crush.

He saw a doll with its blood
floating away with the current.

Thin line, he muttered under his breath,
I never realised
it was this thin.

He snatched himself away from the moment
and headed towards the rest house
thinking
I would give it a try,
some time.

THROUGH CENTURIES OF JUNE
(  for Pinakini Naik )

The stone
stood its ground.

And waited
for me to run

after it. . .

it had flown through the sky
attached to my cry.

Now it was asleep
in the sun

wrapped in its own
silence.

I grasped it
in a fist.

Let my warmth
enter it.

Then spoke to the stone
in the littlest of sound.

"Stone.?" I addressed it
"Do you want to fly

again into the blue
of summer?"

The stone gave a little shadow
of a smile.

I took that
for its: "yeSSSS!"

My hand flung it
to the far away.

Then: raced after
its parabola.

Time chased me
to a tree with a bird

trapped inside
its song.

My stone lay
at the tree's feet

awaiting the next
throw. .

This world
of two

when friend stone
and I

played
with forever.

The great big blue
smiling with all of its summer.

The mind,sometimes
   waits, many a day.
To tell the pen,
    what to say.

You beg me to keep fighting, where’s yours?
You ask me to grow, have you?
To quell the demons inside me, draw power over them
I can still hear yours running free and hurting both you and me.

You ask me to grow and change
Is it too much to ask you to do the same?
Talk to me, tell me what you need
I’m growing and changing, just like you wanted

Yet, I see you not budging an inch
Leaving me trapped, caught in a strain

You told me, your lovers and friends, they all have outgrown you
They all leave in the end…
What else are they supposed to do?
As you give them the chance to ascend
And you descend

You saved me from the dark abyss we were both drowning in
Threw me out as you sunk deeper
Now, it is my turn to save you
I hold out my hand for you
“If I can do it, so can you” I cry out

Will you take my hand? Let me help you?
Or will you sink further, drowning in the cold, dark silence?